Negima: Shadows of the Future
by maneyan
Summary: With everything she had lost and old enemies out to kill her, Asuna must leave all she knows behind. Fleeing from Mahora, she must find her way back home; to the world of magic, to the lands of wonder, where her own legend will unfold.
1. New Shadows

**Chapter 1: New shadows**

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own Negima, Akamatsu does

* * *

Asuna's eyes slowly opened when she felt something move under her head. Still slightly disoriented from the exhaustion she sat up, expecting to see her bedroom. There was some part of her that wished that the events of the last few days would have been nothing but a nightmare. But what she saw was that she wasn't lying in her bed; she was lying on a hillside somewhere. A hillside covered in lush grass, almost too green to be real, and with a clear blue sky above where the sun was shining brightly and small wisps of clouds were dancing slowly across the sky. She looked to see what she had been resting her head on and when she saw it, she gasped.

It was impossible... there, right in front of her, was Negi!

He was wearing a heavy robe, much like the one that his father used only that this one was deep grey, and lay with his hands behind his head looking at the clouds. Still too shocked to speak she noticed his face. Even if she knew it was him the face was nothing like she remembered him. He was scarred; one scar went across his left eye and seemed to have blinded him. Half his right chin had what appeared to be burn-scars on it that stretched from the nose, across the chin to the neck. His skin was weather-bitten, nothing like his usual smooth, and he also sported a short beard. He seemed to have aged prematurely, it was impossible to see that he was only eighteen; he looked more like forty-eight. It was then that he opened his eyes and looked at her. Asuna saw that the scarred eye was white and milky.

"Hi princess." He said, his voice was no longer the clear baritone she remembered but a hoarse, tired one. He sounded so tired... exhausted even. "Did you sleep well?" He asked then, a slight smile on his lips.

"Yeah…" Asuna heard herself say, she wasn't in control, the voice was that of her five year old self. "And you?" She heard herself ask him.

"Quite well." There was another different thing in his voice, it seemed much more relaxed than she had ever heard before, he did sound exhausted, but he also sounded like he had gotten away from whatever had tired him out so much. "There isn't much time left." He then said as he looked towards the setting sun, far in the west the sun was slowly heading towards the horizon "Let's just spend it here without questions." Negi continued, "The answers wouldn't mean anything anyway." He leaned back and patted his stomach gesturing for her to put her head there. Asuna leaned backwards and rested her head on him.

Together they lay on the grass watching the clouds as they travelled across the sapphire sky. . Asuna however shifted between looking at the clouds and looking at Negi. After a while Negi smiled at her. It was a small smile, hardly perceptible, but it was much more genuine than ever.

"Don't worry princess." He said, "You're safe now."

"It's not that." She said, somehow her wishes carried over even into the five-year-old girl that she was now.

"You're worrying about the future?" Negi asked even though she could hear that it was not really a question. Asuna still did not understand what was going on but somehow she managed to say what she wanted.

"I don't want you to go." She said quietly, Negi's face becoming downcast at this.

"I have to." He sat up and started running his fingers through her hair, holding her against him in a caring embrace, "I can't do anything more." he whispered, "My time here is over."

"But I don't want you to go." Asuna said again, this time more forcefully. Why? Why did he have to go? Wasn't he the guy who could do anything?!

"Believe me; I don't want to leave either." Negi stroked her cheek. "You know something?" he then said, shifting tracks, "You really are a beautiful girl." He smiled at her.

"No I'm not." Asuna turned away from him now, her five-year-old self sulking. "I'm ugly. No one else has eyes with two colours."

"I have." Negi said gesturing at his blinded eye. "And I'm sure people will think that you're even prettier because of it. With hair like fire," He stroked her hair, "one eye like water and the other like the forest," he ran his fingers gently across her eyelids, "and skin soft as the clouds" he stroked her cheek, "You are so pretty and you will become an incredible beauty when you grow up." Asuna looked at him now.

"You sure?" She asked him, still in the throes of the dream and not really in control of herself. Negi nodded slowly.

"Very sure." he said, "And if all that doesn't help you always have a temper like a thunderstorm." He smiled wider this time. Asuna got up and punched him in the arm while trying not to smile too. Negi laughed out loud and tried to fend himself from the little girl's attacks. Eventually Asuna threw herself at him and pushed him backwards. Negi landed on his back and Asuna sat down on his chest.

"Give up." She said triumphantly.

"I yield, I yield." Negi laughed, the laughter being filled with serenity even though it sounded like a dying man's coughing, "I know I don't stand a chance against the Twilight Princess."

Asuna got a forlorn look on her face when hearing this. She did not know why but those words chilled her into the core, made her feel awful. The girl got off him and sat down beside him, looking down into the ground.. Negi sat up now and looked at her, compassion written all over his face.

"You can't escape it." He said gently as he reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, "It's what you are no matter if you want it or not."

"But I don't wanna be the Twilight Princess!" Asuna sobbed, sorrow overwhelming her, "I just wanna be me!" The tears now came, flowing freely down her cheeks and her small body being wracked by sobs. She then felt how Negi put his arms around her. He held her in his arms and rocked her gently as she cried.

It was then that a song spilled forth from his lips. It was in a language she didn't understand but it still soothed her. The soft words and the calm melody was somehow familiar to her and she felt how her sorrow lessened, the melody encircled her and she became at peace. Eventually she stopped crying and it was then that she looked at Negi again. Now he was sitting up, Asuna sitting in his lap, and his arms were wrapped around her, hers wrapped around his neck. As her tears abated Asuna suddenly felt strange, like something was changing. Then she realized that she had grown, she had become fifteen years.

"Negi..." she said slowly, her hand reaching up to caress his worn and scarred face. Negi's eyes suddenly becoming downcast as her actions. "Why?" she asked him, "Why did all this happen?" She asked, for the first time really in control of herself. She asked the first thing she could think of, the only think she could think of.

"I'm sorry..." Negi said quietly, not saying anything after that. The man, once a young one, now an aged and worn one, looked away, his arms loosening around her. Asuna wasn't, couldn't, be satisfied with such an answer. She twisted in his lap, ending up astride his legs and grabbed him.

"Oh no you don't!" She said, her voice already trembling again. "I won't let you leave again! Tell me! Why did this have to happen?!" The young girl screamed into Negi's face. "Please..." she gritted her teeth as the tremors returned. Suddenly she felt a hand cup her cheek and she, as if spellbound, stopped to shake. Looking up at Negi again she saw him lean in slowly, his eyes so sad again.

His aged lips then met hers and a surge of electricity went through Asuna as she felt how Negi kissed her. She idly felt how his other hand snaked around her head, the fingers intertwining with her hair, and for a few seconds she stopped being concerned with answers and truth. She felt the tingling sensations overwhelm her and she responded as well as she could, wrapping her arms around him.

But when Negi pulled away again his eyes were still sad and the warmth in Asuna's belly immediately faded when she saw those eyes.

"Take care of everything..." he said softly to her, caressing her face, "Both what is and what will come. And yet again, I'm sorry." It was then that he started to fade away. Asuna's eyes widening as she saw him fall apart into tiny specks of dust. Asuna cried out in denial as Negi suddenly collapsed, turning into dust in her arms, dust that crashed into the ground and in rapid swirls vanished all around her, she started to crawl on all fours, reaching out to capture it in a desperate attempt to keep him with her.

It was then that the winds came. A strong gust of wind came and picked up the dust from the ground and scattered it across the sky, Asuna looked up towards the sky and saw how it all swirled away.

"Negi!" she screamed as the dust rose towards the sky around her, whirling around her line a hurricane. The only response she got was the howling winds. Then she heard Negi's voice, whispering like a breeze.

"Wake up...." he said, "Wake up....."

* * *

"...Asuna-kun, wake up!" Asuna's eyes snapped wide open and she sat up directly. Her head almost collided with the man that was leaning over her. The man started and fell backwards by her sudden move and when Asuna calmed down she saw who it was.

"T-Takahata-sensei..." she said, still gasping. Asuna realized that she was drenched in sweat and that her heart was beating rapidly. Looking around herself she saw that she was lying in the school infirmary, despite the fact that she had seen the entire building demolished during the battle she was now lying in one of its soft beds, the other beds being empty. The aged man, who was wearing a bandage around his head and a large patch on his cheek, got up to his feet with a concerned look on his face.

"Are you all right Asuna-kun?" he asked her, worry written over his worn face. Asuna calmed down somewhat now trying to slow her breathing. She suddenly realized how dry her throat was and swallowed, trying to moisten it. Takamichi noticed this, the aged man quickly hurrying to the nearby sink and filling a plastic cup of water which he brought to her. Asuna accepted he mug gratefully, swallowing it all in one go.

This was a mistake on her part, the water stopped halfway down her throat and she started to cough intensely. Her body shook from the coughing and Takamichi hurriedly took the cup from her. As they ceased Asuna took a few gasps of air before she looked up at Takamichi again, her eyes tear-filled from the coughing.

"What happened?" She asked hoarsely, "I...I remember the light but what happened after that?" She looked up at him with a confused expression. "What happened?!" She repeated, shouting now. Takamichi hurriedly raised his hand and made calming motions with them as he started to calm Asuna to the best of his abilities.

"It's all right..." he said with a soothing voice, "It's all over, we won. It's over... everyone is fine."

"Wh-what about Konoka and the others?!" Asuna asked, remembering what had happened to her friend. How Konoka had stood with Negi, her gut torn open and her eyes glowing with unholy light. What had happened to her best friend? At this Takamichi hesitated for a second.

"They are alive too." he said after a little while, "They are in quarantine now, but it's very likely that they will be allowed to go."

"Q-Quarantine?" Asuna tried to stand up but Takamichi stopped her. "What's going on?!" She demanded and Takamichi nodded.

"Just calm down," he said, "You need to rest, I'll tell you everything, just calm down." Asuna eventually yielded, she trusted Takamichi that much. As she stopped flailing and leaned back again Takamichi sat down and begun to tell her everything.

"After Negi's..." Takamichi hesitated, unwilling to use the word "death" in front of Asuna, she didn't need to be reminded of that, "Something strange happened." he eventually continued, "Usually, someone who's soul has been devoured, like they had been, will be annihilated with it's devourer, but this didn't happen."

"We don't know how it came to pass but Negi's victims all survived, the changes Negi forced upon them are all gone and they are back to normal. They have been in quarantine ever since, the army is examining them to make sure there's nothing left of the taint in them. And don't worry," Takamichi added hurriedly, seeing how the word "quarantine" made Asuna uncomfortable, "Things are looking very good and they will probably be allowed to leave any time now."

"But... Negi is dead," Asuna said after a while, asking the question that now burned in her "...Isn't he?" She looked up at Takamichi, who sighed before he nodded.

"Yes..." he said slowly, "He was annihilated." the man continued eventually, "He ceased to exist, there isn't any trace left of him." The statement made Asuna cold inside, she couldn't doubt it and slowly nodded.

"I killed him..." she said slowly. Takamichi looked at her face and saw the guilt there. Asuna hated herself for what she had done. He knew what she had felt for the young man but despite everything that had happened he could not bring himself to forgive Negi, the memory of Asuna's mutilated body was too fresh in his mind. Now Asuna looked up too and noticed Takamichi's conflicted expression. They both fell silent now, neither of them able to say anything. After a while it was Asuna that broke the silence.

"Could..." she begun softly, Takamichi looked up at her now, attentive, "Could you leave me alone for a while?" She asked her old teacher. Takamichi looked at her for a while before he nodded. He could not deny her that and got up from his seat next to her bed.

"I'll be outside if you need anything." the aged teacher said, Asuna nodded absently to show that she had heard him and Takamichi left, carefully shutting the door behind him. Asuna was now alone and she raised her legs to her chest, folding her arms around them and clenching her eyes shut, feeling the tears start to come out.

Asuna started to cry as the unavoidable truth came to her. The truth hurt... she had loved him, first now she could understand that... and she had killed him... it hurt. Negi was dead, she had killed him. She had loved him, and she had killed him. Asuna raised her hands to her hair and clenched her fingers into it as the sobs intensified. She remembered the final seconds of his life, how her blade had pierced into him and how he had fallen limp. She gave up a cry of anguish and started to cry openly.

It was then that she heard two heavy footsteps right next to the bed. Her eyes flew open and her heart nearly stopped when she saw who was beside her bed. Right next to her a man wearing nothing but black clothes, from the pulled up hood and the scarf covering the lower half of his face down to the black footwear. Several parts of his clothes were reinforced with studded leather and two short swords dangled from his belt. The man towered above her and before she could react he attacked! Moving like lighting the man pressed one hand down on her mouth and another down on her arms, capturing both of them in a steel grip.

"Don't scream!" the man hissed, "I won't hurt you but you must be quiet!" Asuna stared, wide-eyed, at her attacker, at first not understanding what the man was saying. The man glanced towards the door before his eyes returned to her. "Listen here." he said with what seemed to be an attempt at a calming voice, however his voice, hoarse and low, together with his steel-gleaming eyes, did not lend itself well to this. "I am going to let go of you soon, I am not here to hurt you, nor am I going to use you to hurt anyone else. Do you understand?" The man asked her and Asuna eventually nodded.

"When I let go of you," the man continued "I ask that you remain calm and do not scream, I must not be seen here. Do you understand?" yet again he asked her this and Asuna nodded. "Good, I'll let go of you now." A second later the man loosened the grip on Asuna and took a step backwards. Asuna raised a hand to her mouth, massaging it in an attempt to get rid of the soreness the man's strong grip had caused. As she looked towards the man again she saw him remove the mask, revealing a broad, swarthy face with a heavy nose and sharp features. The man was smiling though, his face divided by a large smile.

"You really did grow up to become beautiful your..." the man hesitated, "Asuna." he said after a while. "And don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you."

"Help me... with what?" Asuna asked, confused by the strange man. Did grow up to be beautiful?What was he talking about? However it was then that Asuna heard footsteps outside the door and the man tensed, realizing that someone was coming.

"I'll be back" he said quickly before he pulled up his mask and stepped backwards into the shadow, which immediately darkened to become pitch-black for the faintest of moments before it returned to normal, the man gone by then.

The door to the hallway then slammed open and Asuna looked towards it, her heart skipping a beat when she saw that it was Konoka, her friend. She didn't look any different from usual, the mad look was gone, her body wasn't filled with large sores and the black mark was gone from her forehead. Konoka darted inside the room and threw herself into Asuna's arms, the black-haired girl actually sobbing as she embraced Asuna.

"Asuna..." Konoka sobbed, "Thank Kami-sama... thank Kami-sama you survived..." the girl was trembling and Asuna returned the embrace, her thoughts echoing the sentiment.

* * *

Inside one of the officers of the ravaged Mahora campus a man was standing in front of a large, rippling mirror. The man was clothed in a large, wide robe, deep blue, with wide sleeves and a large, slouching hood. No features except for his mouth was visible, a mouth shaped into a tight frown. Amongst the ruins he was standing, with his back straight and his face against the mirror. From it another voice was coming, a deep and contemplative voice

"And you are certain of this?" the voice from the mirror asked. A tone of urgency was present in it, whomever was speaking was excited. The man in front of the mirror nodded.

"Her appearance is startlingly similar." the man said, his voice hard like steel, the voice of someone with a heart of ice. "Right down to her eyes."

"What a auspicious turn of events..." the man in the other side of the mirror said now. "Keep her under surveillance, question her thoroughly. If it is her, you know what must be done."

"Yes sir." the man's voice said now. "We cannot let any threats to our rule over the new provinces remain. If it is her, she will be dealt with immediately. "

"Good, Harpy five out." with that the mirror went silent, transforming into a small ball of floating metal which the man snatched out of the air before pocketing it. Turning around he walked out of the room and as he opened the creaking door he was met by a large group of mages, all clothed in the same deep-blue robes as him.

"We have our orders." the man said now, looking at the assembled men, "The subject is to be monitored and questioned. If she is the one we suspect she is she must be eliminated."

"Yes sir." the men all said before dispersing, heading out from the building and off to wherever they were expected to be.

* * *

The days that followed the battle of Mahora were intensive to say the least. Immediately after the battle's end another army had teleported to Mahora. This time it had been an army of construction-workers and engineers who had arrived, going about the rebuilding of Mahora with incredible fervour. The campus had, for three days, been filled with fantastic sights, buildings that were rebuilt out of rubble and debris, trees growing with immense speed to full maturity in moments and many other things. The magic society had thrown everything they had into the rebuilding, desperate to keep the events of the last days and their existence secret.

Now, a full four days after the battle, Mahora was back to normal, the students and teachers who had been sealed away into an alternate dimension, one fully similar to Mahora, was now back where they belonged. No one remembered a thing and had all been hypnotized into believing that it was their own choices to have stayed at Mahora until now (in case they had been expected at home or something similar). Asuna had only vague memories of the last four days however, the emotional storm Negi's death had caused had made her deeply depressed but due to the intensive tempo she wasn't given any time to grieve.

She had been shovelled from one place to another, subjected to several interrogations and examinations. The doctors had told him they had to make sure than she did not suffer any ill effects from the battles but Asuna couldn't bring herself to trust them on that. If that was the case, why were they asking about her early childhood? And Takahata-sensei, who had been following her throughout the entire ordeal had now a permanent scowl on his face, she could see that he was wary of something.

Asuna was thankful that they had a week-long holiday after the festival, she wouldn't have been able to go back to school. Not now, when she still found herself sobbing at night when she remembered Negi's death. Indeed, her grief had only been worsened by the heavy-handed interrogations, where the interrogators acted like she was hiding something.

With the world in ruins around her, the boy she loved dead, the knowledge that she had to be silent about all this, lest the mages would punish her for revealing their world and said mages interrogating her about things she knew nothing about Asuna started to wonder why she even lived. It all seemed so pointless to her, these last days had been devoid of any joy to her.

At the moment she had managed to sneak into the locked school building and opened the door to the classroom with her eyes closed. She knew that she shouldn't but she had been walking all over Mahora these last days, hoping that this was all a bad dream and that when she opened her eyes he'd be sitting there, waiting for her to come to the extra classes. But when she opened her eyes there were nothing there, the classroom was empty.

It wasn't even a hope, it was a desperate denial of reality, but it still hurt when it was shattered. Seeing the classroom empty too Asuna suddenly felt how the tears broke out. She was filled with emotions, sadness, grief, anger, hate, shame, all of it directed at herself. Stumbling inside and slamming the door shut she ended up next to the teacher's desk, her back against it and her knees to her chest, her face buried in the arms that rested on her knees.

"Negi...." she sniffled as she remembered the events in the chamber, where she had plunged her blade into the heart of her first love, the young man she, only when it was too late, had come to realize that she loved. The bitter fact that it was the blade meant for her to use in his defence that had ended his life made it all the more painful to the young redhead. Why... why!? Wasn't she allowed any happiness?! She hadn't ever had a family, she had only a few friends thanks to her tomboyish attitude and her first love wouldn't ever accept a confession from a little kid.

But Negi... he had come out of nowhere and uprooted everything in her life and made her enter his world... he had fought everything, both himself, other mages and for her sake, he had been so patient, so kind and helpful. She really had fallen in love with him, not for his strength, but for his kindness. She loved him, she could have loved him all her life! Even with his martyr-complex and overconfidence she realized that she had loved him for real, as him.

And she had killed him...

She had murdered him! She could have spent all her life happy with him, she had wanted to live like that! After everything would have been over at Mahora she was going to follow him to look for his father and when they found him... after Asuna had found that man she sometimes dreamed of she'd get a family... Nagi as her father and Negi.... her husband.

"Negi..." she whimpered again. For the first time in over a year she had actually dreamed of marrying, and for the first time ever with someone her age. She, who had rolled her eyes when the other girls talked about marrying someone, had wanted that... but she had murdered the one she wanted to be with...

Now the sorrow became too much for her and she started crying again. Weeping like a little child Asuna shook. She pushed herself back into the desk, wanting to go away, disappear from everything and not have to deal with all this. She didn't want to have murdered him, why did she have to murder the one she loved?! Wasn't she lonely enough!?

Asuna's cries echoed through the classroom and drowned out the sound of two leather boots hitting the floor as a black-clothed man suddenly stepped out of the shadows, seemingly spawning from them. The man hesitated as he looked down at Asuna, compassion evident in his eyes as he looked at her.

However after a while of waiting he hunched down by her side, kneeling next to her as he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. Asuna started at this and looked up, her face wet from tears and red from crying. The man didn't have time to say anything, however, before Asuna lashed out at him.

"Leave me alone!" she snapped upon seeing the man, not wanting him to be there. She could vaguely remember what he had said but she didn't want to listen. She didn't want to hear anything, especially not this stranger. She buried her face in her arms again and gritted her teeth. Couldn't she just be left alone!?

"I know you are grieving," the man said softly to him, "But for your sake, you must listen to me."

"Go away!" Asuna now kicked out, sending one of her legs against the man to try to get him to leave. Why couldn't he just leave!? Repeatedly kicking against the man, who had raised his hands to deflect her attacks, she screamed at him, venting her anger at the man. It was then that he suddenly shot forwards and before Asuna could react she found herself wrapped in the man's arms. The man stroked her head with one hand as he spoke again.

"Please, your highness," he begged her as he glanced to the side, hoping that no one had heard them, "Do not give up, I know it must be painful but I beg you, be strong." Asuna was paralysed by the unexpected show of affection and could only stare straight ahead. The man's words didn't make any sense to her.

"Wh...what are you talking about..." she sniffled as her tears still fell, "Who are you, what do you want? Why... can't you just leave me alone?!" she started to shake again, still too grieving to say anything else.

"I know I should." the man said softly, "I know that you are grieving, but there's no time." the man kept petting her head, "Your highness," he continued, "Your life is in danger."

"Highness... what are you talking about?" Asuna asked and the man slowly let go of her. Still holding her shoulders he looked straight at her.

"I'm sorry I have to be this blunt." he said as he reached into his clothes, "Were there more time I wouldn't do it but there isn't. Look at this and I will start my story from there." the man then took out something from his clothes and handed it to Asuna. It was photograph and when Asuna looked at is she froze.

It was a picture of a painting depicting a small girl wearing an elaborate robe, who's orange hair was put up in two long pigtails with long bands at the start of them. Her face was calm and serene and her eyes... were blue and green.

"That is you at your fourth birthday." The man said, throwing a glance at the windows, "Your father thought that you were so beautiful that day that he wanted a memory of it for all time. The painting is gone though, only this photo remains."

"My..." Asuna whispered, "My father?" the man fell silent at this but after a short while he spoke up again.

"Yes..." he said softly, "Your late father, King Takuro the fifth, ordered that picture made." Asuna sat silent now, paralysed by his words. She was shocked to the core by what that implied.

"King...?" that was all she could say now.

"Yes." The man said, sincerity evident in his voice, "And your true name is not Kagurazaka Asuna, as you have been led to believe. It's her royal highness Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia, the Princess-Priestess of Twilight and rightful heir to the throne of the kingdom of Vespertatia."

"You're lying..." Asuna said, "This is all some kind of sick joke... you're lying!" She was just about to get up from the floor when Negi's words in her dream a few days ago hit her like a freight train.

"_The Twilight Princess."_

"_It's what you are no matter if you want it or not." _

Negi's words came back and realization hit her like a kick in the teeth. She started trembling as her legs gave away under her and she sunk down to the ground again, shaking. Her eyes then begun to mist up, before she knew it tears were running down her face yet again.

"But... but." she whimpered, "How...? Why don't I remember anything of that?" She looked at the man, suddenly desperate to know what he was talking about. The sudden impact of her dream made her unable to not believe that this man knew about her family. She now reached out and grabbed hold of him. "Why? Why?!" The man reached up to grab her hands again, taking them in his and holding them gently.

"There is no time." he said, his concern and worry evident in his face, "I'll tell you everything, I swear. But now, we must get you out of here. Your enemies will stop at nothing to see you dead. There's only a matter of time before they move. Are you well enough to travel?" The man asked and Asuna shook her head to clear it, the man's words having propelled her into thinking. She stumbled to her feet with the man's aid before she saw him hurry soundlessly over to the door, glancing out of it before waving for her to follow him. Asuna left the classroom, following the man's lead as they both hurried out of the building.

* * *

A large group of the blue-clothed men paraded through the school corridor, advancing with strong and confident steps. The empty hallway echoed with their steps, no other sounds present in the building. The man in the lead raised his hand now and made an outward gesture.

"Search the rooms," he said, "She will be here somewhere." The men soundlessly obeyed and fanned out, forming groups of three that each went for one of the doors and opened it. Walking inside, the men started to roughly search the classrooms. They tore lockers open, searched the corners and left not one square-centimetre unchecked as they looked for the female they were here for. However their search turned out to reveal absolutely nothing. After a few minutes one of the men came out of the room his group had been searching.

"Sir!" the man said, "She's not here, the building is empty." the man in the lead, who had been waiting for the others to finish, swore now.

"She must have some kind of aid." the man realized. "We did not detect her leave." Now the man raised his hand to his ear and pushed the small device lodged in the ear.

"Group two." he said, "Lock down the campus, guard all exists, group three, search her dormitory for any clues as to her whereabouts. If she hasn't left already, prepare to ambush her there."

"_Yes sir." _the thought echoed in his head. He now motioned for the search teams to follow him.

"We'll move to search the streets." he said, "Spread out and report anything to me at once. She must not escape!"

* * *

Takamichi was desperate now. There was no doubt about it, the Megalomesembric investigators weren't here to ascertain that Asuna and the others didn't suffer any ill effects from the battle. He had seen the look in their eyes already at the first day, the disdainful look of someone that saw himself as superior to the people around him. Now, four days later, Takamichi knew who they were.

They were people from the eighty-first division of Megalomesembria's army, the black ops. That division was infamous for consisting of ruthless supremacists who didn't hesitate to do anything for Megalomesembria. They believed their country and people to be superior to the rest of humanity and viewed the rest of the world only as potential resources to be used when needed for Megalomesembria's growth. It was they who had created the Spellshatterer, using Asuna to defend their country and not giving a thought to her suffering.

And now they were here, Takamichi now knowing why. They didn't need any loose threads on what they viewed as their greatest accomplishment the last century, the annexation of their neighbouring nation Vespertatia, the kingdom Asuna had been born as the crown princess of. They were here to make sure that there were no risk of her discovering who she was, whether that meant killing her or imprisoning her he didn't know, only that he was running out of time if he wanted to help her.

The options, however, seemed to have been exhausted a long time ago. Neither he nor Albireo could see any ways out as it was, the only thing they could do at the moment was getting her somewhere safe. He'd be damned if he let them take her without a fight. Asuna had gone through enough as it was, anyone who tried to take her away now would have to come through him first.

As Takamichi hurried over the campus towards her dorm-room he suddenly got a gnawing sensation in his gut. He realized that if he couldn't find Asuna soon it might already be too late, he hoped that it wasn't so. That little girl was all he had left of his master and even if she hadn't been he wouldn't let them take her, she was like a daughter to him.

As he entered the female dormitory, however, his instincts suddenly kicked in at once when he saw the door to Asuna's and Konoka's room open, what was this? He immediately hunched down and slowly slid along the floor, sneaking closer to the door to look inside.

What he saw made his heart freeze, Megalomesembric agents! Four hooded men in heavy robes were currently turning the room upside down. Tearing out every drawer and pouring out the contents on the floor they were rapidly and messily searching the place. Takamichi immediately squeezed himself against the wall, he gritted his teeth as he felt his stomach turn. Those bastards...

It was then that he heard a sudden tumult inside the room, a yell of surprise, the sounds of struggle, a cry of pain that was silenced after only a second. Takamichi acted instinctively as he slammed the door open, one hand in his pocket. What he saw made his eyes widen. The agents in the room were all down, lying on the floor, and in the middle of this stood Asuna! She wasn't alone, a man in a black leather armour, complete with the hood and mask, stood beside her, holding two bloody short-swords in her hands. Both of them had turned to look at the doorway and they saw that it was him.

"You!" the black-clothed man suddenly hissed. Takamichi froze when he heard the accent of the man, It was a distinct accent, he knew it well, it was a Vespertatian accent. He felt a lump in his throat at the realization what that man had to be.

"Takahata-sensei!" Now it was Asuna who had spoken up, the girl looking at him with wide eyes. The man, who had begun to advance on Takamichi, now froze and, after a second, sheathed his swords. Asuna looked at her old teacher and for a few seconds nobody moved. In the end it was Takamichi who broke the silence.

"You're here to take her back, aren't you?" he said quietly, looking straight at the man, who met his gaze with a glacial glare.

"She has lived in your lies long enough and I will die before I let the Megalomesembrians get their hands on her." the man said, still grabbing his swords. "As will the rest of her people."

Takamichi nodded slowly, internally mourning that this had to happen. He knew Asuna's true identity, had always done it. But he had wanted her to remain ignorant of her true past, believing that it would only be painful to the girl. But now... it was the only way, her homeland Vespertatia was now the best place for her, her people would never let her fall into the Megalomesembrians' hands. In the end Takamichi made his decision.

"I'm coming with you." Asuna was all he had left of his master and she was as precious to him as a daughter. He couldn't let her leave alone, he had to go with her. The man stated at that, the distrust evident in his face and he looked like he was about to say something but he stopped when Asuna spoke up.

"Takahata-sensei...." Asuna looked at him with wide eyes, almost as if she was near tears. She eventually looked back at the man. "C-can he..." She asked and the man raised one hand.

"I'll defer the decision to you." the man said, still holding his eyes fixed at Takamichi. Due to his intense glaring at Takamichi however, he failed to notice that one of the men behind him was still moving. The man had feigned death, lying totally still and slowing his breath. Now however he saw an opening.

Leaping to his feet with incredible speed the Megalomesembrian tore out a dagger, which he planted in the black-clothed man's back, before he turned around and fired a blast of magic outside the window.

"Damn it!" Takamichi was on the man in a second and blasted him into the wall with a kanka-punch. The crack of bone that came from the man's neck told them that now he really was dead. However the black-clothed man had sunken to his knees, blood streaming out of his back and a groan escaping from his lips. Asuna reached out towards him, trying to support him but the man tumbled down on the ground.

"Paralyzing..." the man groaned, "...enchantment... " Takamichi came up to check at him too and saw that the wound, even if it bled heavily, wasn't fatal. "Forgive me your... highness." the man said between jaws that were growing stiff, "You'll have to leave... me behind. Takahata.... the Pyriths... take her."

"The wound isn't fatal." Takamichi said, trying to calm him "We'll get you outta here!"

"Too late!" The man said, "He... called for... backup... Run! I'll... delay them! You must get her to safety, that's all that... matters!" The man looked at Takamichi, who saw the desperation in his eyes. As Takamichi heard the sounds of footsteps in the stairs outside the room he gritted his teeth.

"Come on Asuna-kun!" he grabbed hold of the young girl who was futilely trying to stop the blood-flow with her hands. The girl looked up at him with fear in her eyes but also understanding. They both disappeared out through the window, leaping through the air and landing amongst the trees outside.

The man slowly chanted a prayer in his head as he felt the numbness wear off and got to his feet with his hands gripping the swords.

"Stolen, ravaged and defiled, our kingdom will rise from the ashes." he heard how the steps came closer. "Our people enslaved and broken, they will be healed and set free. Our rulers murdered and kidnapped, they will be found and crowned anew. For our lands and home, for Vespertatia!" He roared the last words as the first agent appeared in the doorway. The sight of a black-clothed man with two short swords in his hands were the last thing the newcomer saw before he was decapitated.

As the headless body fell backwards the man followed it's movements and when he came out into the hallway he immediately threw one of his swords to the left, impaling another man. His eyes widened when he saw that there were over a dozen other men, all of them having their staffs ready. However he only felt cold determination as he reached into one of his sleeves and pulled out a paper strip with arcane symbols at it.

"Oh fates..." one of the remaining mages said as they saw saw what the charm was.

"Fire!" The mages all launched a swarm of missiles at him, trying to stop him from unleashing it. But the man had already activated the charm and as he leaped off the walkway he threw it at them, the card spinning through the air and exploding as it hit the wall right amongst the mages. The man spun through the air as he fell downwards and managed to land on his feet. However the wound on his back made him loose balance and he crashed into the ground. More mages came swarming in through the entrance of the building and the man tore out another blade from inside his left sleeve

"Take him down!" Another barrage of missiles came at him and the man made a sudden sidestep, vanishing into a black portal made out of shadows before he reappeared inside one of the shadows created by the light from the spells and now stretched out behind the lead mage. Leaping out of the shadow he twirled his blades around and unleashed a swarm of cuts against the Megalomesembrians. The mages, who had stood tightly packed, were unable to escape as he created a whirlwind of steel amongst them and they all fell down dead all around him, the blood raining through the air.

Leaping into the air just in time to avoid a blast of fire he gritted his teeth. He could feel himself growing weaker by the second, the wound in his back was draining him. Still... he was totally calm, despite the fact that mages were coming from all directions and that he would soon be dead he only felt calm. The princess was on her way home again... He had finally redeemed his failure ten years ago.

As the last survivor of the Vespertatian Shadowguard he had been one of the one-hundred man strong secret guard that safeguarded the royal family from all hidden threats. He had only been an initiate when the castle fell and to his eternal shame he had fled in fear when the demons came swarming out of nowhere. Even when the storm of death had subsided he hadn't returned to look for survivors, as was his duty. Thanks to his cowardice the princess had fallen into the Megalomesembrians' hands, something he had hated himself for ever since.

But now his failure had been washed away and he charged again, towards his death and every last second he could buy the princess. Another Megalomesembrian died as he stabbed him in the chest, piercing the heart. He was free at last. As he continued his battle, avoiding the spells and attacks with the smallest possible margins and killing every single person he could get close enough to he suddenly found himself at peace.

Even when a lighting bolt finally managed to hit him, tearing through his barriers and throwing him to the ground he was at peace. Managing to get to his knees and groaning as he felt the smell of his sizzling flesh he reached into his clothes and tore out another charm. Right when he got it out he was hit by a barrage of binding spells and it was only just that he kept his grip on the charm, hiding it inside his hand.

Several of the Megalomesembrians advanced upon him, kicking away his dropped blades and raising theirs to decapitate him. However he only smiled at them before he opened his hand and showed them what he held there.

"See you in hell." he whispered as the Megalomesembrians had only just enough time to identify the charm before it went off, consuming both them and him in a giant conflagration.


	2. Asuna's flight

**Chapter 2: Asuna's flight**

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* * *

  
**

Takamichi hurried up the stairs with the bag in his hand and looked around. Except for the dinghy stairs, the torn wallpapers and the covered windos he did not see anytihng. It was probably a futile move, the mages wouldn't be that easily spotted if they were here. Still, it was an action that calmed him and he continued his ascent up the stairs. After his and Asuna's flight from Mahora they had boarded the first available train to Kyoto, a place Takamichi knew that they'd be able to lose people in. Takamichi had wanted to take a plane but knew that there were some things they would have to do before making use of the most closely watched kind of transport there was.

He knew that the mages would keep an eye out for them and he'd have to make sure that they wouldn't be spotted. When chased by people who could scan the minds of the workers of all the major transportation hubs after memories of them they needed to change, and change well. After having gotten hold of a dingy hotel room in downtown Kyoto where he had left Asuna Takamichi had made a quick shopping tour and now he was returning after roughly two hours.

Reaching room number 207 he knocked on the worn door, three knocks, a pause, then two knocks, another pause and then three more. After a few seconds the door opened and Asuna peeked out. When seeing that it was him she opened the door and Takamichi hurried inside the small hotel room, a musty place where everything went in differing colours of brown and the wallpapers had faded.

"Okay Asuna-kun." he said to her as he closed the door, "We'll have to dress up if we want to get away without being found." He looked at her and saw that her gaze was attentive and alert. "The mages can pick memories of us right out of people's heads and magic disguises are useless, they stand out like a bonfire." he continued. "Instead," he now poured out the contents of the bag on the large bed in the middle of the room. Several items, many of them clothes but also things like hair-dye, a packet of coloured lenses and other things as well, were now scattered on the bed. "We'll have to use mundane means. That's actually our best bet, the mages aren't used to this kind of disguises."

"Hair-dyes and contact lenses?" Asina asked as she held the packet of hair-dye in her hands. Takamichi nodded.

"We can't do too much about the shape of your face but things like that is plenty enough to dodge most casual memory-scans." he explained. It was a harebrained idea but it was their best bet.

"Do we need fake identities too?" Asuna asked, thinking of the spy movies she had seen. Takamichi nodded at this.

"Usually I wouldn't say so but it's best to be throughout." he now reached into his jacket and took out his wallet. Procuring several cards out of it he walked up to the small desk by the window and put them down there. Asuna looked at them and her eyes widened when she saw that the cards Takamichi currently was going though looked like ID cards. "If we had more time I'd get hold of something better but these can pass a cursory inspection." Takamichi said, "Until we get to our destination this is you." he gave Asuna one of the ID cards and Asuna looked at it.

"This won't work." she said after a few seconds, "This doesn't look like me at all." Takamichi nodded.

"That's where the makeup comes in." he said, "We'll have to get as similar as we can to the person on that image. It's our only hope."

"Why not just use these?" A voice said from the window and Takamichi spun around on his chair and almost fell backwards. Asuna leaped backwards too, heart pounding, before she could see who it was. Her eyes widened when she saw that in the small opening of the window a small furry animal was currently standing, holding two white cards in his left paw. A wide grin was visible on his face and his eyes gleamed with intelligence.

"Ch-chamo?" Asuna said as the small ermine leaped down on the table and bowed.

"At your service big sis." the ermine bowed at them before putting the cards in front of them."As I just said..." he continued, "These are a thousand times better than..." he didn't get any further before Asuna snapped.

"Wh-where the hell have you been?!" she yelled, making the ermine start. "Where have you been all this time?!" Asuna grabbed hold of Chamo now and lifted him into the air. The anger came out of nowhere but suddenly she hated the ermine. That little... he was supposed to be Negi's familiar but Asuna hadn't seen him in over a month! Where had that little shit been!? Hiding in a hole while Negi had fallen to the taint?! She found herself shaking Chamo violently while she demanded an explanation from the ermine. It was not until Takamichi grabbed hold of her and made her let go if Chamo that she regained her senses. Still breathing harshly she glared at the ermine, who was rubbing his neck now.

"I..." he groaned, "I was hiding." he continued after cracking his neck. "Big bro's orders... He knew that everything was going pear-shaped and wanted me to hide. In case he messed up in the end and everything went south I was gonna make sure to get you outta there and to what safety he could get for you, otherwise I was gonna return to become your familiar."

"My... my familiar?" Asuna asked but now Takamichi interrupted her.

"Wait." he said, his voice hard and commanding. "Perhaps you had better take this from the beginning. What has been going on all this time? How did all this happen, when the hell did Negi even become tainted?!"

Chamo looked up at Takamichi, seeing only steel in the man's gaze, and eventually shrugged.

"Fair enough." he said before sitting down. "It was about one and a half years ago. Big bro and I had gone to Berlin, we were on the hunt for a demon that had gotten hold of the Thousand Master's journal. We did manage to find the demon but it tricked big bro and got him to follow him into Malfeas' realm..."

"What?!" Takamichi's eyes were wide and Asuna gasped. Takamichi knew well how that realm was supposed to be and Asuna remembered the demonic titan well, she didn't think she'd ever forget how that horror's voice sounded. Negi had gone there...?

"Yeah he was tricked and before he could get out of there Malfeas caught him. I managed to hide but big bro was tortured for months in Malfeas' citadel. It was only after several weeks of looking that I even found him and it took even longer before I could help him escape. But when he came out..." Chamo shook his head. "He looked like a bloody rag, I still don't get how he could move but we managed to flee back to this plane. When we got out big bro was almost dead but I managed to get help from the local enclave. I made up a story about an ambush and they helped him get back to full health."

"Hey!" he suddenly said, seeing that Takamichi was reaching for his packet of cigarettes. "Gimmie one, will ya?" He reached out one paw and Takamichi eventually obliged, taking out two cigarettes and handing one to Chamo. The ermine took a deep puff from the cigarette and sighed.

"Still," he said, "Big bro only smiled when he woke up, he had managed to get hold of the journal somehow and while he was healing up he was going though it from back to back. That's where he learned about you big sis."

"Me?" Asuna asked, "Okay, let me guess," she continued before someone could say anything, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose, "It's connected to the reason why those men wanna kill me and why I managed to know Nagi's name without ever having heard it, right?"

"And to why you can cancel magic." Chamo continued. "There was a reason why big bro worked to hard on that ritual of his. He did want to sever a magic bond, only that it wasn't supposed to be the one that kept Malfeas where he was."

"It was the magic bond that enforced the contract between you and Malfeas." Takamichi continued solemnly. Asuna spun around now to look at her old teacher, horror and shock evident on her face. Takamichi continued. "Ten years ago you were tricked into make a contract with him. In exchange for removing your natural affinity for demon summoning and giving you the ability to cancel magic he would gain your soul ten years later."

"Wait..." Asuna now said, the girl had stated to tremble. "Wait! So not only I'm a princess with people who want to kill me, I was also a demon summoner, got tricked by that Malfeas into selling my soul, that's how I'm immune to magic. Negi, who got tainted when he tried to get hold of his father's diary, tried to release me from this bond despite having the taint in him to worry about?"

"That... is pretty much it, yes..." Chamo took another puff of his cigarette. "There's more to it but you got the basics down."

Now Asuna just stared into the table, unmoving. Takamichi was still silent, not knowing what to say. Chamo was silent too and it was only when Asuna started to laugh that the silence was broken. A shaking laugh escaped her as she turned around and started to walk away.

"Asuna..." Takamichi said, getting up from his chair. However Asuna only walked straight towards the wall in front of her and suddenly she screamed before slamming both her fists into the wall. The girl slowly sunk down to her knees, her eyes wide as she stared into the ground.

"It's..." she whispered, desperation evident in her voice. "It's not funny any more... stop this... please stop it!" she begun to shake again and shut her eyes tightly. "No more... no more, I can't take this! Give me back my normal life..." the last words were little more than desperate whimpering. Princesses, mages out to kill her, demon pacts, taint, it was too much for the young girl and she collapsed, starting to cry again.

It was now that Takamichi came, the aged man gently hunched down next to her and reached out, embracing her. Asuna threw herself into his arms and sobbed desperately into his chest, trying to find what comfort she could find with him. Takamichi only held onto the young girl, his eyes closed as well. The man's heart bled at the young girl's pain and all he could do was hold her as the sobs continued.

* * *

Nearly an hour later Asuna had fallen asleep, both the physical and mental exhaustion taking it's toll on her. She was currently laying on the bed with a blanket draped over her, courtesy of Takamichi, and slept soundly. She appeared to be at peace but Takamichi knew that she wasn't. It wasn't really strange though, Takamichi ran a hand over his face and sighed, this wasn't what he had wanted to happen. The man turned back to the ermine that was currently sitting on the desk, leaning against the window-board.

"Okay." he said silently, not wanting to wake Asuna. "Continue." the ermine nodded and continued. For the next hour Takamichi sat silently and listened to Chamo's story of how Negi had slipped deeper and deeper into the taint. Chamo told the man everything, leaving out nothing, not even how he had procured an example of the Tome of Thanata or how Negi had experimented with the taint constantly, desperately diving into darkness hoping that he would be able to find the plug somewhere down there.

When he was done Takamichi sat silently, not knowing what to feel. On one hand he still saw Asuna's mutilated body in front of him and remembered the terrible battle that had taken place at Mahora, causing the deaths of thousands. On the other... everything made sense now, Takamichi knew how Negi was and suddenly saw how all this had happened. The boy had really thought that he could carry the entire world on his shoulders.... just like his father.

And Nagi... now more than ever Takamichi felt like he needed the Thousand Master's help. But no, Nagi was most probably still at Mahora, consumed by the deep depression that had gotten it's hands on him right after the battle. Takamchi ran his hand over his face, pulling off his glasses and realizing that he was afraid.

This felt like he was back during the war, back when he had been a young teenager without any prospects thanks to his inability to use magic. Back then Gateau and the rest of the Crimson Wing had been there but now... Gateu and Zect were both dead, Nagi was out of the match, Albiero trapped at Mahora, Eishun wouldn't leave his daughter no matter what, Takamichi hadn't seen Jack Rakan since the war ended and doubted that the mercenary would even be interested in helping. Only he was left now, he alone had to dodge government agents, get Asuna, who wasn't in condition to go anywhere at the moment, through one of the gates to the magic world. Said gates would be extremely well guarded, and then he would have to somehow enter Vesperatatia, a land that had been subject to a Megalomesembric "police action" for years. Well there, he'd somehow have to find the Vespertatian resistance, people who had hidden from Megalomesembria's troops for a decade.

How the hell was he going to accomplish this? Idly shaking his head to himself he suddenly heard Chamo clear his throat.

"Now, business." The ermine was standing in front of him, holding up the cards he had had with him. "As I said, with these you'll have a much better chance." After all that had just happened Takamichi had completely missed those cards but now he took a look at them. With a gasp he realized what it was and stared at Chamo.

"Where did you get hold of something like this?" he asked the ermine. Chamo smiled wryly at him.

"I've got my sources." he said smugly and Takamichi only shook his head. In his hand that man was now holding two enchanted ID cards, cards that could be used to create an ID that would pass through any scan and even accurately depict the user, making it undistinguishable from a normal ID. The best part was not that though, after it had created the information and the picture the magic vanished, leaving almost no traces, making it able to pass through magic scans too. Needless to say, they were immensely expensive and highly illegal.

"And that's not the best either." Chamo continued, taking out a large bottle of pills from god knows where. "With these we're REALLY clear." Now Takamichi stared at Chamo.

"Who are you?" he eventually asked, "I can't possible imagine that a normal ermine-elf would have access to things like this." Chamo looked at him with an, if possible, even more smug expression.

"Fortunately I'm far from normal." the ermine said with a grin. "With new ages, new passports and new looks you'll get away like..." However he was interrupted when Takamichi suddenly slammed his hand down on him, pinning him to the desk.

"That's not good enough!" the man hissed, his frayed nerves making him snap. "I'm not in the mood for blind trust at the moment, not in any direction. Now you give me the god damn truth!" Chamo's eyes flew up wide at the man's harsh words and he froze under Takamichi's hand. For a few seconds the ermine was quiet but eventually he sighed.

"Okay." he said quietly, "Let go of me and I'll tell you everything." Takamichi eventually obliged and the ermine sat down on front of him. "Let's take the introduction first." Chamo said, "My real name and title is Lord Chamomile of Faerie, the Lord of Veils, spymaster and personal envoy of the king of Faerie, his majesty king Oberon."

"What... what!" Takamichi could only stare at the ermine. Fae... was the denizens of the first of the lower realm involved in this too?! What was happening here? Chamomile raised one hand to stop him now.

"I'll explain, a long time ago big bro's ancestor saved the entire faerie court from destruction, delivering countless millions of us from destruction. It's long story and it's not really relevant at the moment but thanks to his deeds the entire Fae race owes him and his lineage a debt that can't ever be really repaid. King Oberon decided to send me to watch over and serve big bro when his father never came back to his son. If you think I seem too well connected then it is because I act as the hand of the entire Fae Court ."

Now Chamomile sighed, "But now, with big bro dead, all we can do is to take care of his ministra, she has our allegiance for now, at least until any more of the Springfield lineage are born, something I doubt will happen." Chamomile looked up at Takamichi and for a moment Takamichi could almost see the power that radiated from Chamomile. In the end, however, he spoke up.

"Did Negi know about this?" he asked silently. Chamomile shook his head.

"Big bro had enough problems without knowing that an entire plane had high hopes for him, it was better that he just knew me as a wily ermine with a lot of connections. Also, don't tell Asuna. If she knows it will weaken me immensely, only to let you know has a price." Now Takamichi understood. Unlike humans many demons, the fae especially, took their strength from the abstract and the esoteric. Chamomile's strength and powers came from the fact that he wove secrets all around him, without his secrets, he'd fade and die. Some small part of Takamichi suddenly felt bad for forcing the ermine to do the metaphysical equivalent to wound himself. Still... there was one more question he had to ask. "And how do I know that you really mean that?" he silently asked, "A being of lies, how can I trust you?" Chamomile smiled wryly.

"Why do you think I can only appear as an ermine?" he asked, "I'm a lord amongst my kind, don't you think I should be stronger than a normal ermine? But very well, if you desire, I will swear an oath to show that I speak the truth" Takamichi understood and suddenly his respect for the ermine deepened immensely. In reality he was meant to be a being as strong as high ranking demons, like the malebranche Takamichi had fought under the battle of Mahora, but for duty's sake he had let go of so many of his secrets that he had become reduced to a simple ermine-elf. He was even prepared to weaken himself even further. Eventually he shook his head.

"It's all right..." he said, "For now, I'll believe you." he decided to give the faerie that much trust. Chamomile couldn't help but give a small sigh of relief at this. Takamichi turned to look at the small bottle of pills that now stood on the table. A bottle of age-deceiving pills, pills that would change the eater's apparent age. The red pills made you look older and the blue made you look younger, Takamichi had only heard of these things a few times before and knew that they were even more illegal than the enchanted ID cards that now lay beside them.

"Is there anything more you've gotten for us?" Takamichi decided to ask and Chamomile only grinned, pulling out a pair of flight tickets.

"I took some liberties choosing your names." the ermine said, handing them over to Takamichi.

* * *

Narita International Airport was bustling with activity. Thousands of people were walking all over the place, tourists heading for their flights away from Japan and to warmer places, businessmen heading for conferences and meetings in places like New York, Dubai or Singapore, the list of people coming through Narita could be made endless. In this constantly seething sea of people the pulse was high, almost frantic, and it felt as if one would drown if they stopped moving.

Through this chaotic bustle of people an old man was making his way, holding onto a small girl. The man was old, most people would have placed his age around the eighties, and it was easy to see on him that he had lived a hard life. Weariness was etched all over his face and his long white beard hung down to his waist. Still, he, walked with strength and confidence, holding a little girl's hand in his.

The little girl, on the other hand, seemed almost dead. Her little face was pale and gloomy, almost grey, and her eyes seemed devoid of the joy expected to be found in the face of a small child. She was holding on to the man, walking slowly and carefully, making the man have to slow down so that she could keep up. Every now and then the girl coughed.

A group of junior high-school girls that just had returned, sun-tanned and in high spirits, from Hawaii, passed the pair by when the girl suddenly started to cough, this time much more intensely. The girls looked back at the pair and as the man hunched down beside her, running his hand across her back and doing his best to comfort her, and within a second they had hurried over.

"Is she all right?" one of the girls asked as they all crowded the man. The old man's eyes suddenly widened as he noticed them but after a few seconds he spoke up, giving them a small smile.

"Yes." he said, giving the little girl another pat on the head. "It's just the air, her lungs are a little weak. I'll just get her a little water and let her sit down for a bit and it will be all right."

"Okay," one of the girls said, "I'll get you some!" Before the man could say anything the girl had already dashed off. Two of the other girls had dashed off in the other direction and soon they had found a free seat, immediately guarding it. Before the old man knew what had happened he and the little girl were both seated with the girls surrounding them and the one who had run off for water coming back with a large bottle of water.

"Thank you." despite the strange situation, however, the man thanked the girl as he received the water. Taking out a pair of pills out of his bag he gave them to the little girl who swallowed them and took a mouthful of water. The junior-high girls all looked at the girl as she forced the pills down her throat, their full attention at the little girl.

The girl soon stopped coughing, the water obviously having helped, and she looked up at the other girls through eyes that had misted up from the coughing.

"Th-thank you." she said quietly, all the girls immediately becoming smitten with the poor sickly little girl. Seemingly only five years old, with long black hair that that reached to her legs, bangs that covered her eyes and a pale face, she was the cutest thing they had ever seen.

"Are you better now?" the old man asked the girl, who nodded slowly. It was now that one of the girls, a black-haired, bespectacled girl with two braids, spoke up.

"Forgive me," she said to the man, getting the tired old man's attention, "But should she really be travelling in this condition?" the girl asked the man, concern evident on her face. The man hesitated now, seemingly knowing what to say but being unsure on how to say it. Instead, to everyone's surprise, it was the little girl who spoke up.

"Th-the doctor said that I didn't... " the little girl said quietly, looking down into the ground. "Grampa promised that we would go to London when I got better but I'm not... s-so he's taking me there now." the little girl looked down into the ground and the girl who had spoken up opened her eyes wide.

"I... I'm so sorry..." she said, her face reddening when she realized what the girl meant. The other girls reacted too, their eyes misting up as they understood. The old man, however, raised his hand in a calming gesture.

"Now dear." he said softly, "Don't say it like that, your liver samples were really good last time they took a look, weren't they?" despite the calming tone in the man's voice the girls could see that his hand was shaking and they all felt something swell up in their throats. The little girl seemed to shine up ever so slightly though, giving her grandfather a small smile.

"_All passengers heading for London Heathrow, please proceed to gate 45."_ The old man looked up now and nudged the girl.

"That's our flight sweetie." he said gently, the girl sliding off her seat as the old man rose, taking her hand. "Thank you yet again." he said to the girls who nodded, still shocked by what they had heard. As the old man and the little girl left the girl looked back, raising one hand to wave at them. The girls all waved back, blinking to fight back their tears as they watched the girl disappear.

* * *

As the plane lifted off the ground, heading towards the sky and setting its heading for London Heathrow, the little girl fidgeted in her seat. The old man, who had been reading a newspaper right beside her, looked up from the article he was reading and glanced at her. When his eyes met the girl's he leaned in and the girl whispered.

"What's the deal with a charade like this?" she asked, "Isn't this a little over the top?" She looked at her old teacher, now transformed into an eighty-year-old man. She wasn't good with lies at all and this whole thing had made her unsettled. The girls she had pretended to be a sickly little girl in front of could just as well have been her classmates and to trick them like that left a sour taste in her mouth. Takamichi only smiled, outwardly acting like a concerned grandfather even if his words were different.

"It was necessary," he said, "Now the mages will see a powerful image of a sick little child amongst the mental images of young girls at the airport. They will put it aside and focus on the images of girls who try to be anonymous."

"Still...." Asuna said softly, "I don't like it..." she shook her head and folded her arms around the small bag she was carrying, clenching it in her grip. Takamichi sighed.

"Then let's hope we get to our destination soon." Takamichi gave her a slight pat on the head and sat up again as the flight attendant came up to them and asked in they wanted anything to drink. Asuna however didn't even hear the woman, she only kept staring into the seat in front of her. The young girl was still unable to come to terms with what she had been told by Chamo and did everything to not think about it. That left her in a pinch though, she didn't know what to think of, what did she have that wouldn't hurt to think of?

Everything about Mahora was out of the question, she didn't want to think about Negi, that would hurt too much. That made it all crash down, all of her life as far as she could remember it had been there. Her friends, her home, her school, everything was soiled, blackened by the nightmarish events of the last weeks. It was then that she started to sob again, realizing that she had nowhere to run. No matter what she thought about she would end up in the middle of the pain. She raised her hands to her face and covered it, trying to stop the tears. It was futile, however, and soon Takamichi raised the armrest between them and embraced her.

"Let it out." he whispered, "Let it all out." now it all snapped and Asuna begun to cry again, burrowing herself yet again into Takamichi's chest, this time as only a little girl. She cried, cried over how all of her life had been torn apart, over how she had lost everything, how she was alone and fleeing from people wanting to kill her. She cried over the death of Negi and over how she had lost seemingly her only chance to be happy. She cried and cried until there were no more tears, only emptiness.

Takamichi slowly let his fingers run through Asuna's hair, the little girl had fallen asleep again after nearly an hour of crying and was now resting with her head in his lap, her pale face tear-streaked. At this moment she really looked like she was dying. It was kind of ironic, Takamichi didn't doubt that she felt just as bad as she looked. A little girl, only just having started her life and already fading away. He sighed deeply and ran a finger down her cheek.

He felt like a total failure right now, all he had wanted was for Asuna to grow up and get a chance to become a normal girl, without the horrors of her past and the giant expectations that would be levied on her now. But now it was all over, either way Asuna would never be able to go back. Then again, he wondered if she maybe had lost that possibility far earlier. Perhaps upon the very day she met Negi.

Negi... what was he supposed to do with that guy? Hate him? Pity him? Fear him? Respect him? Negi was the reason that Asuna's life had been torn apart, now she had lost everything, perhaps permanently. Negi's pride and his decision to carry the world on his shoulders had cost Asuna more dearly then Takamichi could fathom.

But still... didn't all this mean that Asuna was free from her contract? Then she would in the end be able to live on? Takamichi didn't know actually. He knew that normal magic contracts between two people would fade if one of the parts died, that was common knowledge, so common that it was only used in that kind of demonic deals where the one making the offer was arrogant enough to think himself immortal, in all other kind of deals you used precise wording to bind the contracts in other ways too. But this rule, would it still apply for Malfeas' contract? Would it still apply to the contracts forged by the demon-god of the ninth hell? Takamichi could only pray it was so.

Still, the man now shook his head, gathering his thoughts as he tried to figure out what to do next. The hardest part of their journey was rapidly approaching, the trip between the worlds. Only one gateway existed in that mundane world leading to the magic one, and it was in Wales, located in the wilds not too far away from the magic academy. But how would he reach it? It would be guarded, heavily, and he couldn't see how they would even be able to get close to it before being discovered. In the end, it would all be left to chance and to what the magic enclaves decided to do.

Despite them being in the mundane world, the old world, the different enclaves of magic users that remained in this world were considered just as much parts of the supernatural world. They were seen as international territory, parts where the international laws of the magic world applied together with the national laws of the nations they were situated in. Other than that they were considered the backwaters of the magical world, rarely having anything important to say.

The SESF, the Supernatural Enclaves Security Federation, was the only actual organization who dealt with these places specifically and even then it was merely as a part of the different organizations that strove to maintain the secret of magic. On the paper it was nothing more than an exchange of information and resources between the different enclaves, who sometimes lacked the resources needed to maintain the secrecy of their existence to an acceptable level.

In reality, however, it was a totally different matter altogether. Ever since the great war, where hundreds of enclave mages had become embroiled in the battles of the magic world, the SESF had silently been building up it's power. Many of the enclaves had suffered terribly during the war, becoming, despite their outlying position, battlefields and supply depots for all sides of the war, the Algerian enclave was still to a large part a wasteland. When the war was over many had voiced their anger with this, meaning that they should not have to suffer in wars that did not even involve them and the SESF unofficial agenda had soon become to achieve independence for these enclaves, one way or another.

On the other hand this might be a blessing, having Megalomesembric agents tearing the enclaves in search for a supposed "terrorist" without even revealing what she was wanted for might be the final spark that propelled the enclaves to act. On the other, Takamichi could imagine that there was a lot the enclaves could win by handing Asuna over to Megalomesembria. A chance to trade the last of Vespertatia's royal house for their own independence might be like a gift from heaven to the enclaves.

Takamichi was used to the uncertainty and danger that they faced now, he had worked for the SESF and their executive branch, the AAA, for years and knew what it was like. Still, he didn't like it at all, especially not now. He could deal with anything, but he did not want to have to drag Asuna through it all too. Still, somehow he'd have to get her to their destination, everything hung on that.

"_I wanted to give you a chance at a normal life."_ He thought as he looked down at the sleeping Asuna_, "I don't know if it was me who failed or something else, but I swear, this time I will not fail."_

_

* * *

  
_

The news of the great battle of Mahora was quickly spread all over the magic world, at first there was chaos, nobody truly knew what had happened and the SESF remained continuously tight-lipped. Nobody knew more than that the plans of some dark mage had been foiled and the reporters were jubilant, talking about how a coalition of magical world troops had fought off a full scale demon invasion successfully, there were even talk of how the Thousand Master himself had reappeared upon the battlefield and rained death down upon the demons.

Later on the news became more sombre, however, when the casualties were clear. All in all the forces sent to Mahora had numbered nearly twenty-thousand men, a full division of warrior mages, including heavy armour support, an entire battle fleet and the largest force of supernatural auxiliary ever assembled. When the battle was over, however, only around six-thousand remained all in all. Of those, over sixty percent were wounded.

The reports all indicated that the army had been moments from being overwhelmed when the Thousand Master had, in a display of unequalled power, annihilated the entire horde. Even those who knew the Thousand Master's strength would suddenly feel something cold in their guts when realizing how powerful that man must have been for something like that to be possible, even with the insane background magic that had permeated Mahora during the battle.

Finally, the real shock came when the identity of the dark mage was revealed. The classic dark mage was to many people mages who always had fought with their own inadequacy and felt that they should be more powerful than they were. Dark mages were born amongst unbalanced, often deranged, people who were prepared to do anything for more power. No one could ever have expected that the man that had opened the gates to hell, who had caused thousands of deaths, was the Thousand Master's son, Negi Springfield.

The uproar was total, many refused to believe it. Negi Springfield was, even if he was not even near his father's level of fame, a known figure amongst the mages. The stories knew of him as a wanderer, one who had searched for his father all his life, a serious young man with all his father's power but at the same time a wisdom beyond the gung-ho Thousand Master's. Many who knew of him had been certain that he would succeed and bring back the Thousand Master whenever the need would become dire and then they would stand as one, father and son.

But he had been tainted, he had sacrificed his soul to darkness and nearly brought about the end of the world. In was inconceivable to the people of the magic world. How could Negi Springfield have done such a thing? People all over the magic world were stumbling around in a shocked daze. Yet no group of people took it as hard as the inhabitants of the small Welsh village where Negi had been born.

The entire village had been silent since the revelations came. None of the villagers had taken the news well at all and were currently going about their business in a silent and shocked daze. The tavern where laugher could be heard every night was now silent, the old men sitting at the bar without a word, more like drunken mourners than revelling old men. The market where the housewives traded words and gossip with the merchants, laughing about this and that, was now like a funerary procession, only a bare minimum of words being traded.

Old man Stan had, ever since the news came, been in the worst mood anyone had ever seen the old man in before. The irritable old man had been holed up in his cabin for nearly a week, only coming out twice and both times he had stalked through the village, his beard on edge, his eyes shooting lighting at everyone around him, his jaws clenched and his teeth grinding into the mouthpiece of his tobacco-pipe. Anger seethed around him and he seemed ready to kill whomever spoke with him.

Anya had been furious too, though her anger was intermingled with grief. One second she was flinging everything she could get her hand on across the room and the other she was totally still, not even crying but only staring ahead into the air. Her parents' attempts to calm or comfort her led inevitably to them having to flee her room, curses harsh enough to singe the air shooting after them.

And Nekane Springfield, Negi's only relative in the village... When the news had come, not only from the news broadcasters but also from the sombre letter sent by the Purifiers, the organization formed to combat the taint, she had seemingly died inside. In a standardized letter lacking all warmth or understanding she had been told that her little cousin had been tainted and dealt with in the only possible way, by death. She had become totally devastated by the news and had gone into seclusion. The entire village was broken, but none more than her.

* * *

Nekane just could not understand it. It was all incomprehensible to her, totally impossible. For three days now the woman had been crying, her grief over her cousin's death having broken her. She was currently sitting by the kitchen table, dishevelled and red-eyed, sobbing furiously.

It was inconceivable to her, impossible. How could Negi have been tainted? How could her beloved cousin have done something like that? The taint... the dark mages that wielded it, no matter how she looked at it it was impossible! Negi wasn't like that! Not her cousin, not the little timid boy that had slept in her bed since he was afraid of darkness... Nekane had tried, desperately so, to understand what was going on for days now but she just could not see it.

Negi wasn't a dark mage, he couldn't be. She remembered how he had helped her picking raspberries in the garden back when he was only seven, he had worked so hard and diligently, doing his best to keep the berries whole despite most of them ending up mashed in his inexperienced hands. How could that boy be a dark mage?

But the letter she was holding in her hands had been impossible to misinterpret... it said, black on white, that Negi had been a dark mage, that he was responsible for the terrible battle at Mahora and all those lives lost. The little boy that once had gotten Anya to help him look for the Magus' cat after having heard that it had run off again and spent all day looking for it had become a monster.

Had it all been a lie to her? Was the young man she had met about a year ago nothing but a lie? Had Negi really lied to her about all that? She didn't want to believe that, she couldn't believe it! Nekane clenched her hands in her hair again and her sobbing only intensified as she thought of her cousin. The little boy she had raised almost as her own son and the strong young man that had come home after having been gone for seven years, was there anything similar between them, anything that she really knew about Negi? She suddenly wished, wished so badly that it hurt, that all this hadn't happened, that everything that had happened these last months hadn't come to pass.

A sudden stab of headache came to her and the staccato of her sobbing was interrupted as she reached to hold one hand to her forehead. Was she getting a migraine on top of all this? She started to sob again however, not having the strength to care about it until another stab came, this time even more powerful, that made her gasp.

This time she didn't keep crying, even in her grieving state she could recognize what was happening. Every mage knew what sudden stabs of pain in the head meant. She got up from her chair, warning bells ringing in her head, and reached for her staff. But she got to her feet only to feel a third stab, this one powerful enough to make her stumble and fall to the ground.

Crashing down to the the floor she cried out in pain, both from the stab and the impact, and suddenly saw blood on the floor below her head. She raised one hand and touched her face only to see the hand covered in blood when she pulled it back. The fourth stab suddenly came and she convulsed, loosing all control and falling to the floor, wildly spasming.

A scream ripped it's way out of her throat as the blood came streaming out of her orfices. Her nose, her mouth, even her eyes and ears were bleeding. Eventually the spasms stopped and she became still and unmoving, her head lolling to the side and blood streaming down her face.


	3. Blind leaps of desperation

**Chapter 3: Blind leaps of desperation**

**

* * *

  
**

When reaching London Takamichi and Asuna had managed to jump aboard a bus heading for Wales and thus far everything had worked. Takamichi had spotted the agents several times but the ermine's gifts had worked perfectly, they had managed to slip them by. Asuna had managed to keep it together and they were currently sitting at a wayside restaurant along one of the country roads of Wales, eating dinner.

Their disguises remained on and Asuna's disguise had caused the waitress, a teenage blonde, to become worried enough that she had asked if they needed to call for an ambulance. Takamichi had managed to calm her but the girl still did everything she could to hover around their table, seemingly waiting for Asuna to collapse. Thankfully they were speaking Japanese, a language the girl didn't seem to understand.

Asuna was currently sitting at their table, an old and heavy one made out of some kind of dark wood, with a plate of spaghetti in front of her, trying to figure out how to properly eat it with her knife and fork. Takamichi, who sat with a plate of fish and chips, would have smiled at the sight if he hadn't been in such a grim mood. Leaving Japan had been easy, as had getting here, but now the really hard part came, how the hell were they going to enter the Welsh magic enclave without being noticed?

He had been racking his mind for hours now, trying to come up with some plan. They would be picked out easily as soon as they reached the border, unless they could disrupt the watchers and the wards it was hopeless. At times like this Takamichi hated his lack of magic abilities, had he been able to weave spells then he might have been able to bypass the defences with some disruption spell.

Still, there was ways to bypass it. The most obvious at the moment seemed to be to wait. Chamo had promised that he'd catch up with them as soon as he was able and the ermine would be able to help them across the borders like nothing. The problem would be that they didn't have the time for that, the agents would be looking for them and they needed to keep moving, not even these disguises would pass a close inspection.

Other, much more risky, possibilities existed and Takamichi was loathe to try them, entering

the borders and try to ambush and kill the sentinels before they could sound the alert wasn't an

idea he liked. Still, if no other options revealed itself it might be their only hope.

"Sir..." Takamichi snapped back to reality and looked to the side to see the waitress stand by the table, a pot of coffee in her hand. "Did you want some coffee?" Takamichi blinked before he realized that he had finished his plate.

"Oh... yes please." he said in English and was given a large cup of black coffee. Thanking the waitress he took a sip of the coffee, noticing that it was really strong, almost overly so. How long had this thing been boiling? Nevertheless, he needed the coffee, he had only grabbed a few hours of sleep on the plane and was exhausted at the moment. Rubbing his eyes he tried yet again to come up with a plan only to see something he had never expected to see at this restaurant.

He could only stare as he saw a blonde woman enter the restaurant and look around. Unlike the rest of the patrons she was wearing clothes that clearly marked her as a woman from the enclave, a long wide robe and a hood covering her hair. Takamichi wondered what the hell was going on, even more so when he saw who it was. It was Negi's cousin, Nekane. He had only seen her in the flesh once, nearly ten years ago, but remembered her well, the angular face and the purple eyes especially. What was she doing here, and in clothes that made her stand out like that no less?

The other patrons didn't seem to take any notice of the woman but Takamichi suddenly found himself hunching down in his seat, watching her intently. What was she doing?! Walking around outside the enclaves in mage-world clothing?! Suddenly he noticed how the woman started to walk towards him and Asuna, before he could react she had sat down by their table.

Asuna jumped too when the newcomer appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, by their table. Her head snapped up and she started at the newcomer. Nekane's purple eyes were utterly still, almost impassive, as she looked at Asuna.

"C-can I help you?" Takamichi asked in broken English, trying to remain calm as the woman turned to look at him.

"No," Nekane said silently, turning to look at the man. "But I can help you Takamichi, you and Asuna." Alarm bells went off like crazy inside Takamichi's head and Asuna had suddenly frozen. How could this woman know that it was they? Their disguises were supposed to be near perfect! Takamichi found himself clenching his hands and readying himself for the worst. Was she with the agents now? Perhaps the Megalomesembrians had made her believe that Asuna was responsible for Negi's fall into darkness and that she was with them.

The woman raised a hand however and made a calming gesture. "Don't worry," she said, "I'm not with your enemies, I'm here to help you get the the other side."

"You probably understand that I need more than that.." Takamichi begun, still wary of the woman, "How do I know we can trust you...?" Nekane looked at him and he immediately saw how empty they were, it was almost as if she was dead.

"More than that I've just lost the boy that meant everything to me?" She asked Takamichi quietly and unemotionally, "Delivering you to them wouldn't give me Negi back. That girl is everything I have left of my baby cousin." Asuna was currently looking between them, trying to understand what Nekane was saying when Nekane turned to look at her. Nekane reached out now and touched Asuna's face, the girl jerked but sat still, feeling almost like she was transfixed by the woman's purple eyes. It was almost as if she looked straight through her.

After a while Nekane looked back at Takamichi and shook her head. "You are free to decide whether you trust me or not. But tell me, can you afford to stay here until Albert arrives?" Takamichi gritted his teeth but realized that she was right. Staying still for days, perhaps weeks, would not be a good idea. Every hour that went by only gave the agents more time to tighten the security around the gates.

But could they trust this woman? Nekane, a woman he remembered as a decent mage but not more, was now staring straight through a glamour this powerful. Takamichi didn't even know it was possible to do that but she was doing it. How? The risks were too great for Takamichi to take what appeared to be the perfect solution. Looking out of the window though, his eyes suddenly widened.

A group of men were approaching. They were wearing normal clothes and looked for all intents and purposes like a normal group of travellers but Takamichi saw the several subtle signs that revealed them as the agents, their confident and ready steps, the way their eyes scanned the surroundings and also the rings on their fingers, spellcasting rings. Nekane looked over his shoulder now and when she saw the approaching men she tensed.

"Back door," she said quickly, "Come with me." She got off the chair and walked up to the waitress, waving a hand in front of her face and muttering a quick spell. The girl's eyes suddenly turned blank and Nekane walked past her hand into the kitchen.

"Come on Asuna-kun." Takamichi said as he grabbed their luggage and followed Nekane. Asuna leaped off her chair and left immediately. Right after they had left the room the waitress snapped back to attention. Blinking, she looked around the room and suddenly felt like she had forgotten something. It was then that she saw the empty plates that stood by one of the tables and hurried over, rapidly collecting the tableware and plates. Putting them away she suddenly realized that she had forgotten who had been sitting there.

* * *

As the three people passed through the kitchen the cook, who was currently stirring in a large pot, spoke up in protest. "Hey you can't...." a quick gesture from Nekane made him become as blank-faced as the waitress and Nekane, without even sparing him a second glance, opened the back door.

"Hurry." she said and Takamichi and Asuna both walked out of it. Closing the door behind her Nekane left the restaurant last of them. Without any hesitation the woman started to walk into the forest that was behind the restaurant and she urged for them to follow. Asuna looked back at the restaurant as he left, any second expecting the agents to come storming out of the back door. However nothing happened and they could proceed deeper into the forest.

"There is a back door into the enclave." Nekane said as she led them deeper into the forest. "It's an old elf-path. Only a few people know of it."

"Elf-path?" Asuna asked from her position in front of Takamichi. She was still in her five-year-old-shape.

"Think of it as the supernatural equivalent of an animal path." Takamichi explained to Asuna.. The man soon noticed that the forest was getting thicker and thicker. They were crossing over onto the elf-path. "Sometimes supernatural beings and different spirits make their own paths through the wilds and if those paths are trafficked heavily enough the paths become charged with magic. This means that sometimes you can find paths that can lead you across the entire world in only a few hours since they pass through the spirit world as much as the natural world. Apparently there's a path here that will lead us right into the enclave without having to pass the borders." Asuna nodded through the explanation, sort of understanding what he meant.

She looked around herself and saw how the forest begun to darken, the trees shutting out the sun. The ever present sound of singing birds had disappeared and suddenly she could hear sounds in that distance that somehow seemed to fit in all the more in this terrible primal forest. Growling, hissing, shrieking. Subdued and distant but ever present, Asuna begun to tremble.

"Don't stray off the path." Nekane warned them, "If you do, you might get lost in the spirit world. Only the most powerful and skilled mages can safely navigate the spirit wilds, others risk disappearing and never returning." Asuna made sure to stay at the middle of the path now and even begun to walk as lightly as she could. She could feel it, there were _things _out there, things that wasn't half as afraid of her as she was of them. Things that would hunt her if they found her. Suddenly she felt something on her shoulder and she jumped to before she realized that it was Takahata-sensei.

"Don't worry Asuna-kun." he said silently, "As long as we stay on this path we'll be safe." Asuna nodded, instantly being calmed by Takahata-sensei's assurance.

They kept going through the forest and Asuna constantly kept her eyes on her surroundings, still nervous. However after a long time walking in silence suddenly Asuna thought she could see the forest lightening up further ahead. The air felt like it lightened up and the oppressive feeling slowly vanished. Soon Asuna felt like she could breathe freely again. As they came out of the forest the young girl looked around herself and suddenly her eyes widened.

High on a hill far to the east, towering above the landscape around it, was a huge building, one of the largest she had seen. Or, no, it was not the largest, the skyscrapers of Tokyo were larger, but this building had an aura that was above and beyond those. It was a giant white castle, one that was like taken from a fairytale. Dozens of towers were rising from the large building and jutting into the air, arches and walkways going between them. A large moat surrounded it and just beyond it a tall wall rose into the air. From several of the highest towers green flags waved in the air, red dragons adorning them all. Asuna found that she was staring at the sight and Takahata-sensei and Nekane stopped to give her time to look at the majestic building.

"Behold," Nekane said softly, "The Welsh academy of magic. One of the oldest of all magic academies and the greatest of all the academies of the old world. It has stood for nearly two millennia, ever since it was founded by Merlin himself at the end of his life, and the legends that's arisen from its alumni are counted in the hundreds..."

"Look!" Suddenly Takamichi's voice rung out and the man pointed at the sky to the west. Asuna gasped when she turned her head towards where he was pointing.

Something gigantic was approaching through the air, flying through the clouds a huge whale-like being was rapidly approaching the academy. From the direction of the huge entity a sound, almost like that of a blue whale, could be heard, a long, almost singing tone that echoed across the landscape. Even at this distance the ground was shaking.

As the thing approached Asuna could see the gleam of metal and the lights that emanated from it. It was a ship, a titanic airship made out of metal and magic, shaped as a whale with it's dorsal fin slowly waving behind it. The ship was over three-hundred meters long, just as majestic as the giant sea-beings it looked like. Asuna could only marvel at the sight as the huge ship passed over their heads and on towards the academy.

"The Garandia." Takamichi said, staring at the black letters on the side of the ship. "That's a Megalomesembric Apocalypse-class superdreadnaught." he continued, feeling cold inside, that ship had enough fire-power to obliterate the Welsh academy in minutes and could carry up two god-soldiers, two-thousand combat-mages and two-hundred lance-riders. How far was the Megalomesembrians going to go to get Asuna? Were they planning to blockade the gate by force?

"They they would go this far..." Nekane said as she looked at the ship, the huge thing slowing down and positioning itself over the castle, casting it's shadow over it. The woman's face was grim as she watched the scene. "There is no time... You have to use the gate now, follow me!" The woman broke into a sprint towards the west and Takamichi grabbed hold of Asuna, throwing her up on his back.

"Hold on!" he yelled and Asuna instinctively tightened her grip on the man. Within a second the man was dashing through the trees at incredible speed, his apparent infirmity not stopping him at all as he followed Nekane through the forest. Asuna knew how to move quickly, her training with Negi had had great results, but Takahata-sensei's speed was beyond anything she had ever experienced. Everything turned to a blur and he sidestepped, leaped and dashed so quickly that the terrain was only an unclear blur around them. Even more amazing was that Nekane kept up, staying a few steps ahead of them. Was this how fast people in this world could move?

The dash continued, across the Welsh landscape, into yet another forest and through it. Takamichi soon felt the sweat run down his face, even with his Kanka and well-trained body this speed wasn't anything he could keep up forever. He could reach the gate without any problems, that wasn't an issue, his question was how Nekane, the mediocre mage that never studied any advanced magic according to what she had told him all those years ago, could keep this speed.

He didn't like this, it felt too much like they were walking into a trap, but the really irritating part was that even when he knew this he couldn't do anything else. With a warship in Wales and agents all over the countryside Takamichi was reduced to blind leaps of faith. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists, what was he going to do? He could only follow Nekane, follow and pray that these strange events wasn't the signs of a trap.

Soon Takamichi could see the familiar shape of the giant henge that contained the gate between the worlds. Nekane stopped right by the edge of the forest and Takamichi stopped there too. Quickly looking out from the treeline he couldn't see any signs of it being guarded.

"There are no guards..." he muttered to himself, keeping his eyes on the henge.

"They can't block the gate from this direction." Nekane said, "Not without requesting permission from the Magus. Normally they wouldn't bother but if Wales blockaded the gate the Megalomesembrians would lose their only way into the old world."

It made sense Takamichi thought as they started to walk towards the gate. He knew that there were gates in several places of the magic world but the Megalomesembrians only had access to one. One existed in the Hellas empire to the north and another had once existed in the ruins of Vespertatia's capitol Ostia. The emperors of Hellas would never allow the Megalomesembrians access to their gate and the Ostia gate had been destroyed for a decade

As the trio approached the henge Nekane looked back towards them. "Take the gate to Hellas." she said, "From there the trip will be safe. It might be best if you change first though, your normal clothes are too noticeable in the magic world." With this Nekane took out a bundle from inside her robes and threw one to Takamichi. "You can change behind there," She pointed towards one of the large stones. "I'll help Asuna with her illusion." Takamichi nodded and hurried in behind the large rock.

Taking off his clothes he tried to think over the situation one last time. Even if he still was suspicious he couldn't help to calm down. They were at the gate, right? Hellas was a perfect destination, Megalomesembria and Hellas despised each other and the agents would have a very hard time following them there. Hopefully they would be able to get their bearings in Hellas and plan a safer crossing to Vespertatia.

Pulling on the plain trousers and shirt that was used under the robe he could hear subdued talking from the other side of the stone. Were they talking? As he pulled the robe over his head he guessed not, Asuna was horrendously bad at English and the last time he had been here Nekane hadn't know Japanese. Still, with how the woman seemed to have changed he wouldn't be surprised if she did now.

"Are you done?" he asked loudly as he collected his discarded clothes and after a second Nekane's voice came drifting.

"Yes." The woman said and Takamichi stepped out from behind the rock, now wearing the usual robes of the magic world. A wide, open robe with a plain set of pants and shirt under it covering his body. His usual clothes were bundled in his right hand.

The sight that greeted him however, made a sinking feeling arise in his gut. Asuna was back in her normal appearance too, having changed into magic world clothing as well. Her hair was loose and spilled down her back and her robe was decorated with subtle flower patterns along the rims, something Takamichi remembered being popular amongst the girls of the magic world. Now she really looked like what she was meant to be, a girl of the magic world.

Somehow Takamichi felt like every step they took towards the magic world tore away another part of the Asuna he had seen grow up at Mahora. He stood still for a few seconds, watching the girl as she fiddled with her clothes. Some small part of Takamichi cried out that they should go back to Mahora and let everything go back to how they had been. But he knew that was not an option and suppressed the voice as he walked up towards Asuna and Nekane. He handed over his clothes to Nekane who accepted them as she looked out across the field.

"Good luck." she said as Takamichi put a hand on Asuna's shoulder and pushed her into the centre of the henge.

"Just calm down Asuna-kun." Takamichi said as he noticed that the henge started to shine, the ancient magic of the henge started to awaken. "It will feel a little strange at first but it's over quickly." Asuna nodded at his words and took a deep breath to calm herself as she saw the lights start to swirl around them. As the light increased in intensity magic patterns started to appear on the ground around them and the girl suddenly looked back, looking at Nekane as the blond woman stood just outside the henge, watching them.

"Thank you!" She suddenly yelled in broken English. Nekane blinked at this but eventually she bowed her head in Asuna's direction. That was also the last thing the girl saw before light exploded all around them and they both disappeared from the henge, the magic sending them into another world.

As the light cleared Nekane looked at the empty henge, her eyes now glazed over. After a few seconds she stumbled forwards. A sudden cough made her shake and one hand flew up to her mouth, intercepting a spray of blood from it. Suddenly there was blood everywhere. It started to run out of her her mouth, her nose, her ears even her eyes. Her body become stiff and suddenly it twisted spasmodically, making another spray of blood leave her mouth. Sinking to her knees the woman let out a shallow breath, the gurgling sound of blood accompanying it, before she fell to the ground, limp and unmoving.

* * *

Asuna gasped as she once again felt solid ground under her feet. The feeling of freely falling stopped at once and she took a step to the side, trying to recover her footing. Before she was in any danger of slipping, however, Takamichi quickly caught her however. The man, now back in his normal appearance, smiled at her as he straightened her up.

"There," he said, turning to look at the city that would be in front of them, "That wasn't so...." his voice suddenly died as he stared straight ahead. Asuna couldn't help but turn to look at what Takamichi was staring at and when she saw the sight she was dumbstruck by it.

It was a city, a huge one. Giant buildings, crowned by domes and shimmering with light, rose on an island in front of her. The sight was unreal, several of the buildings seemed like sculpted, shaped, out of rock and in several places she saw islands floating in mid air. In almost every detail, from the arching walkways that went between the high skyscrapers to the large ships, similar to the one she had seen over the academy but seemingly unarmed, that were slowly rolling through the sky above the shining city, the city's otherworldliness was laid bare for her to see.

"It's.... beautiful...." Asuna said, for a moment having forgotten everything as she watched the fantastic city in front of her. However behind her Takamichi's sentiments were different.

"No..." the man whispered, despair gripping his heart as he looked at the fantastic city. That wasn't Hellas... "No, no... no!" After his last outcry of denial everything happened at once. In a cascade of bright flashes robed men suddenly appeared all around them. Teleporting onto the platform over a hundred men had, within a second, appeared all around them.

Wide eyed, Asuna looked around as more men appeared out of nowhere and when the air all around her started to exploded with energy she had to cover her eyes. Takamichi covered his eyes too but he could still tell what was happening. They were putting up a containment field, they were trapped!

"It's over!" a sharp voice cracked above the hissing of the barrier, as commanding, authoritative voice, "You have nowhere to run! Get down on your knees and put your hands above your heads!" Takamichi's heart pounded like a drum, each beat making the ice cold blood in his veins flow even faster. How was this possible?! Why were they in Megalomesembria?! The Welsh gate had been locked onto Hellas! Suddenly the voice rung out again, "Do it now!"

Takamichi's eyes now fluttered from one side to another, trying desperately to find some kind of opening. But all he could see was battle-ready mages and the crackling walls of the containment field. Something died within him, falling silent and still as he realized that it was impossible. They would never be able to get away.

"Do as they say Asuna-kun..." he said quietly, despair welling up inside him as he went down to his knees and slowly raised his arms. He stared into the ground as he placed his hands on the back of his head. They had rerouted the gate, something Takamichi never would have thought them capable of. They had really done everything in their might to capture her... and he... He had failed... he failed... in the corner of his eyes he saw how Asuna got down to her knees as well. As he saw how two mages approached them from the sides he clenched his eyes shut.

"_I'm sorry Asuna..." _he thought as he gritted his teeth. He couldn't do anything... even after all this time he was just as helpless as when his master had died. Everything he knew, everything he had learned, all his strength... it withered into nothing.

But when he felt the strong hands of one of the mages grabbing hold of his arms something snapped inside him. No... not like this... not again... not another failure thanks to him!

"_No.... NO!" _He moved without thinking, tearing his arms away and bringing them together. The flash of light as he moulded kanka was blinding and before the light had even started to weaken two sharp cracks resounded across the platform as Takamichi sent the mages flying. When the light faded Takamichi was standing up, his hands in his pockets and fury evident on his face.

"You.... don't touch her!" he roared as he punched the barrier surrounding them with all he had, the immense power in his kanka-enhanced attack shattering it and making the air sizzle with residue. The mages in front of him didn't have time to act before he sent another punch towards them, this one tearing across the platform and throwing several of them into the air and off the platform.

"Take him down!" the commander of the mages roared and within seconds a swarm of nearly a thousand air-arrows was darting towards him. Takamichi didn't move at first, waiting until the last moment when he leaped backwards quick as lighting, making the majority of the arrows his the ground but over a hundred turned and pursued him. The grizzled man wasn't fazed by this the least though and with another echoing kanka attack he stopped the arrows mid-air, the explosion shattering the energy projectiles He sent another pair of kanka attacks at the men, making more of them be thrown off the platform.

It was now that the mages charged, staying at the edges of the platform was too dangerous, they understood that. With their staffs raised a dozen of them all attacked Takamichi _en masse, _moving like unclear blurs. Within one second Takamichi was attacked from every direction, the mages not leaving a single angle of attack open. Left, right, back, front, from above and even below, they came from all directions at him with their hands covered in the glow of stunning spells.

However it was all for naught, Takamichi put his hands together once more and moulded all the kanka he could, creating a shockwave that tore across the platform, sending the mages tumbling through the air. Clenching his fists, in the process creating another pair of shockwaves, he unleashed another swarm of kanka strikes, these falling from the sky and smashing several of the mages into the ground.

* * *

Far from the platform, above the city streets and on top of one of the large spires shooting out of the skyscrapers, a large man was standing. The man was very tall, easily above six feet long, and his imposing frame was further accented by his clothes, tight black clothes accentuating his powerful physique. His long, billowing cloak covered most of his back and only revealed his head, where a hood and a painted porcelain mask, sculpted after his face, covered every inch of it. On his shoulders several layers of cloth formed a kind of shoulder pads from which several giant crow's feathers stuck out.

Said man was standing with his large cloak billowing around him, making him seem almost like a dancing, black flame on top of the spire. There was no way to see the man's features except for the faint gleam visible through the eye-holes. His face was turned downwards, looking at the city streets. The sudden explosion, however, made him look up. Glancing to the sides, the man tried to pinpoint where the detonation had come from. It was when his face turned to the right that he saw the spoke rising from the platform where the world gate was located.

The man stood still for a few seconds, looking towards the distant platform, before he stuck one hand out from his cloak and held it up in front of him. Up along his his wrist a black band came flying at high speed, twisting around the wrist and curling up inside his hand. The long, black band twisted now, the edges seemingly merging wherever they met and shaping themselves into a small, black mirror.

The man raised this mirror now and it lifted off his hand, coming to float in front of his face. He turned to look towards the platform again now, his shadow-mirror giving him the ability to see what was happening. At first, it was only the battle that appeared, the man being shown the furious struggle between the Megalomesembrians and the lone man. However, after a few more seconds the man turned the mirror ever so slightly, another person appearing in it. The face that now appeared was the one of a young girl with red hair and one green and one blue eye.

If the man had been affected by this it was hidden by his mask, however after only a moment he had already unsummoned the mirror and disappeared in a blur of motions, a series of rapid cracks along the sides of the skyscrapers between him and the platform the only evidence of his passing.

* * *

With a roar Takamichi parried a lighting bolt sent at him and made a counter with his kanka punches, bisecting the mage in a second. Blood and corpses littered the platform around him and Asuna now, nearly twenty mages had died thus far. Takamichi was still in the throes of berserker rage, not even feeling the exhaustion as he continued his relentless assault.

The usually level-headed and reasonable man fought like a wild animal as all his insecurities about his own worth, his guilt over his master's death and his frustrations over his inability to save Asuna all melded together and created a cocktail of white-hot anger that spurred him on. It made him attack relentlessly with only one goal in mind, killing every last one of them.

Even as his clothes were torn and singed by several spells, revealing severe burns and wounds beneath the cloth, he fought on like a wild animal. The pain, which under normal circumstances would have made him unable to even move, wasn't even noticed by the raging man and despite the several crippling injuries he remained on his feet, willpower and kanka making him go on.

Yet, the mages surrounding them weren't planning on giving up, they were darting around him, firing spell after spell at him. They had given up on the incapacitating spell as long time ago and now thunder and fire raged across the platform as they tried to hit the man. Three of the mages was currently attacking Takamichi with swords created out of thunder. Weaving in and out the men were raining down attacks on him but Takamichi dodged them all, moving so fast he was only a blur to his enemies as he got behind them and, with three powerful attacks, broke their necks and slammed their corpses into the floor.

However it was then that he heard a scream. Normally he wouldn't even have registered it but the pitch of the voice made him freeze. It was a girl's scream! Takamichi, feeling all the rage slide off him at once, spun around only to see something that made his heart freeze. One of the mages had gotten past him somehow and now the robed man was holding Asuna by the throat, a long dagger aimed at her neck. Takamichi felt the horror arise in him at the sight and found himself unable to move. No.... no! Too focused on the sight of Asuna and the dagger threatening to sever her throat he didn't see the fireball that shot at him before it was too late.

Asuna screamed in denial when Takahata-sensei was hit by the fireball. She tried to struggle against the grip but the man only pressed the dagger against her throat even harder. The girl was unable to do anything more than to watch helplessly as her old teacher was thrown to the ground and rolled limply along it, his back turned into a mass of charred, smoking flesh.

"Takahata-sensei!" She screamed, watching as the mages walked up to him, intent on finishing him off. This couldn't be happening! Not Takahata-sensei too! She had been terrified when he had suddenly struck back at the mages, starting to kill them one after one with a fury Asuna didn't think her idol capable of. Yet, that was nothing compared to what she felt now. Takahata-sensei couldn't die! Not he! And she? Couldn't she do anything other than to watch people close to her die?! If it hadn't been for the dagger against her throat she would have screamed out of frustration, as it was she could only stare helplessly.

Takahata-sensei started to move, groaning as he tried to get to his feet. He moved slowly and weakly, having lost all his strength. Pushing himself up with he gasped in pain as his mind finally registered not only the pain of his charred back but the ache from the dozens of other wounds that littered his body. He gritted his teeth and tried to push himself up, it wouldn't end like this! However suddenly he got a kick in the gut and fell back down, glancing up he saw the mages towering above him, anger and fear evident in their faces.

"Finish him," one of the men said, a tall man wearing the decorated robes of an officer. One of the mages now stepped forwards and raised a sword made out of light, preparing to decapitate him.

"Takahata-sensei!" Asuna screamed again and Takamichi's eyes turned towards Asuna. He tried to weakly smile at her as he awaited the inevitable.

"_I'm sorry..." _The man thought, memories flashed by in front of him when he could, in the corner of his eye, see how the blade started to fall.

_Flashback:_

"_Eh?" the little girl said as she looked back at Takamichi, her face as calm as ever. "Present?" the six-year-old Asuna asked him and Takamichi smiled. He leaned against the drawer next to him and held out the small package. Even if he didn't show it he was more nervous than he had been in months, would she like it?_

_Asuna accepted the package with her usual deliberate motions and started to open it. She took her time, as usual, and didn't damage the wrapping paper any more than necessary. When she opened the small box she stopped for a second to analyse the contents. Soon however she took them out and held them in her hands. _

_Two red hair bands with small bells small bells tied to them was now resting in her hands and Asuna tilted her head, watching them in her usual pondering manner. Eventually she held them out to him. _

"_Put them on for me." she asked him and Takamichi obliged with a smile. He took the bells into her hands and tied them into her hair at the best of his abilities. When he was done he stepped back and gave Asuna a mirror. The little girl took it and looked into it, turning her head left and right to see how it looks. She eventually noticed Takamichi's smile and spoke up again. _

"_I'm not..." she said, "Happy about this or anything." Takamichi didn't suppress his smile however and Asuna looked away. "Okay okay..." she said after a while. "Thank you..."_

_

* * *

  
_

"_What's this?" Takamichi asked when he saw Asuna sitting on his bed, taking off her socks. "You sure seems to get beaten up a lot these days." he aid when he noticed the small band-aid on her cheek. Asuna scoffed._

_"It's that baka class-rep that came at me," she said petulantly, "She really is a baka." the little girl added after a while._

_

* * *

  
_

"_Takamichi," the ten-year-old Asuna said as she sat at the table, her arms folded on the table and her head resting on them. Takamichi looked back at her from his work-desk. "Smoke some cigarettes," Asuna continued, "it makes me feel calm."_

_Takamichi couldn't help but feel a small pang of guilt at this. What was he doing with her? "Asuna-kun..." he said slowly, "There's this thing called passive smoking. It's bad for you, in fact, it's bad for me too." He looked back at his papers, for the first time in years seriously considering to give up the smoking._

_

* * *

  
_

"_Ah," a voice said from the classroom ahead and Takamichi saw Asuna's friend, Konoka, stick her head out from the classroom. "Long time no see Takamich..." At this point she was interrupted when Asuna stuck her head out of the door._

_"Ta..." she stuttered, "Takahata-san...." even if she was using the honorific she had recently adopted for him she was smiling and Takamichi returned the smile, saying hello to both the girls._

_

* * *

  
_

_Today was the day, Takamichi thought to himself, Asuna had stared junior-high today and he was in all honesty quite anxious to see her again. He was currently walking out from the building when he bumped into Asuna and Konoka. Noticing them he gave both the girls a smile. _

"_Oh..." he was honestly a little surprised, they were early. "Hello to you, Asuna-kun, Konoka-kun. The uniforms suit you." He added with a smile when seeing that they had traded the elementary school uniforms for junior high school uniforms. _

"_Ah... good afternoon Takahata-san." Asuna said with a nervous smile. Takamichi understood it though, entering a new division of school was always a jittery experience. "You will be out homeroom teacher from now on, right?" She asked and Takamichi nodded. Asuna's smile widened. _

"_So that means from today I'll be calling you Takahata-sensei, right?"_

_End flashback: _

"_Forgive me Asuna..." _Takamichi felt how his eyes started to mist up as thought about his failure. He couldn't do anything, had he ever been able to do anything? _"Forgive me..."_

"TAKAHATA-SENSEI!!!!!"


	4. The shadow of salvation

**Chapter 4: The shadow of salvation**

The black lance came out of nowhere, none of the mages noticed it before it was too late. Before any of them could react the man whose light-blade had been only an inch from Takamchi's neck was hit right in the chest and thrown backwards due to the immense power in it. At the very same moment Asuna suddenly heard a sharp crack and felt the man restraining her jerking before he turned limp. The arm holding the dagger was twisted away as she stumbled forwards, powerful arms suddenly capturing her.

Looking up, she came face to face with an impassive mask surrounded by blackness. A billowing cloak was thrown out behind the figure, creating a halo of darkness that obscured everything except the mask. The newcomer, a large, powerfully built man, reached for her face now. With the cloak still billowing behind him, time seemed to move in slow-motion as he gently took her face in his hand, Asuna feeling his eyes on him.

"Your highness..." the man's voice said with a respectful, even reverent voice. However only a second late that man rose to his full height, suddenly dwarfing Asuna, and spun around. The man raised one hand now and from his arm a sudden swarm of black... things shot out from it. The mages that were still alive after Takamichi's berserk fury all raised their barriers in an instant and as the swarm of black bands crashed into the barriers a cacophony of flashes and explosions erupted across the platform.

Asuna screamed from the sudden din and threw up her hands to shield her face. The floor under her feet was shaking from the explosions and the ripping sounds as dozens of barriers were torn apart clawed its way into her ears. A whooshing sound accompanied the black bands as they shot out again, this time Asuna looked up just in time to see how they spun around Takahata-sensei, wrapping him in a tight cocoon of black bands. The man now pulled at the bands and Takahata-sensei was sent flying against them, the man capturing him seemingly effortlessly when he crashed into him.

"Your servant is safe." the man said now, calmly yet hurriedly, "It is time to leave your highness." His arm shot out, holding onto the cloak, and Asuna was wrapped inside the fabric, only just having time to scream before she was muffled by it. The black-clothed man now raised one hand and slammed it into the ground, kneeling as he did so. Black tendrils shot out from the palm, crawling along the floor and growing in thickness. Within an instant the entire floor under him was coated in the darkness and the man started to sink into it now.

Some of the mages had recovered now and a frantic barrage of spells were launched against the sinking man now, however, all they hit was the floor of the platform as the man had already disappeared, carrying their quarry with them.

"Taint!" a man roared now, pushing his way out between two mages. "See to the wounded!" he yelled, "contact HQ and have them lock the city down, that kind of teleportation can't be that long ranged!"

* * *

It was with the swirling whisper of the wind and with a sudden flare of darkness that the large man appeared inside the shadows filling the dark cellar. In one of the corners of the goods-filled room the man came into existence. A muffled scream came from inside his cloak as his feet hit the ground. Seemingly not even burdened by the man he was carrying, the man turned around, stepping backwards and letting the girl inside his mantle out. Asuna had crouched together and was shivering, her hands covering her head.

"Your highness..." the man said now, "Are you all..." he reached down to touch her now. However he wasn't prepared for what happened now. Asuna suddenly started when his hand landed on her, she slapped it away and back-pedalled.

"Don't touch me!" she screamed, her eyes wide in fear and shock. Her back hit the wall and she came to a halt, raising one arm to fend off the man if he was going to come closer. "It... it's impossible... you can't live, you died… Negi!" her voice was shivering as badly as she was, the girl was hysteric.

"Your highness!" the man begun again, about to step closer but stopped when a door opened. The man spun around and took one of his bands in his hand, ready to throw it, however when he saw who it was he stopped. In the doorway situated at the top of a short flight of stairs a fat, red-faced man wearing a stained apron had appeared. The man was looked at him with surprised eyes.

"Kagetarou?" the apron-clad man said with a grunting voice. "What the taint are you doing in my larder?" The man's eyes them fell upon the panicked girl and the limp man wrapped in the shadow bands. "And what exactly are you..."

"There is no time!" the masked man, Kagetarou, said with a hurried voice. "Go get a healer, the best you can find, and get him here now. This man needs a healer." He indicated the limp form of Takamichi. The man was no longer wrapped in the shadow bands, Kagetarou having removed them, and how the grave wounds on his body were laid bare to see.

"Oh great..." the fat man said with a sigh when he saw the wounded man. "Business as usual isn't it? Fine but if you drag my inn into something again I swear I'll shove those shadow-bands of yours where..."

"Roland!" Kagetarou said now, making the fat man turn around and leave with a muttering voice. The door closed and Kagetarou turned around to Asuna again. She girl was still staring at him, terrified, but she had managed to grab hold of a rock that had been lying on the ground and was firmly gripping it in her hands, determined to defend herself.

Now Kagetarou stopped. He understood what was wrong with the girl, she was in shock, and he calmly and gently kneeled, sitting down a distance from her with both knees touching the ground.

"Your highness..." he begin now, speaking with a soft tone. "I do not know who you think I am, but I swear, upon my soul, that I am not an enemy of yours. I am not this "Negi", my name is Kagetarou of the Bosporus, I am your friend."

"Shut up...." Asuna said, the girl was hyperventilating, her entire body tense and shivering. "Shut up, go away, go away!" the last words were screamed. However Kagetarou didn't move.

"Yet again." Kagetarou begun, "I'm your friend. The man who just left will get hold of a healer for your servant, he will survive, this I swear."

"T-takahata-sensei... you'll heal him?" the girl was confused enough that she couldn't think straight. All she knew was that the man who had, at first, seemed like Negi returned from the grave, said that Takahata-sensei would be fine. In her confused state that was all she could register.

"I will make sure that he is healed." Kagetarou said again, making a calming gesture with his hands, "He will not die and you are safe. Just calm down, everything will be fine."

The scene inside the cellar reached a kind of impasse now. Kagetarou calmly waited for the girl go of the rock she was holding and Asuna was still staring at him. For several seconds everything was still, neither of them moving. It was, in the end, Asuna that broke the silence.

"Take off that mask." she said, still shivering but not nearly as panicked as before. Kagetarou looked at her with a confused look beneath his masked face "Take it off!" Asuna said after a few more seconds, "I won't trust you unless you show me who you are!"

"As you command then..." Kagetarou said after a moment now, reaching up to grab the mask over his face. The mask, fastened with magic, came off effortlessly and Kagetarou slowly slid it down, showing his face to the girl. Asuna met the man's eyes and the steady gaze he gave her as he showed her his face.

"Is this enough?" Kagetarou asked after a while, reaching the hand that wasn't holding the mask out towards her. Asuna looked at his face, eventually nodding. Her hand reached out towards his now and soon she put the stone down on his hand. Kagetarou bowed his head now, pulling back the hand. At that very moment the door slammed open and light flooded the room. Kagetarou's hand shot to his face instantly, the mask landing on his face swiftly. Looking around, he saw how Roland had returned, dragging a robed man by the scruff of his neck.

"I can walk on my own!" the second man yelled now, being actually pulled backwards by the fat man. Despite his girth, Roland's arms were massive and very powerful. The innkeeper came down the stairs now and with a shove he pushed the man towards the corner where Asuna, Kagetarou and the unconscious Takamichi were all lying.

"Here's your tainted healer." Roland said as the man crashed into the ground, "Now care to explain why Takahata Takamichi is bleeding to death in my larder?"

"Demons and Hellfire!" the robed man exclaimed now, realizing who the wounded man was. "What the taint is happening here?" he said, walking towards Takamichi and pushing up the sleeves of his robes. "Hey, Kagetarou," the man said now, summoning the attention of the masked man, "Get this man tainting upstairs, I can't heal anyone in this dank hole."

"Very well." Kagetarou said, "Please your highness." he whispered to Asuna. "I can vouch for these people, uncultured as they might seem, they are reliable men. Please come with me." With this, the large man turned around and carefully picked up Takamichi's limp body.

"Let's get him to the staff-room." the robed man said, "Put him on the sofa there," at this the man stopped for a second, "...With the belly down." he added when seeing Takamichi's badly burnt back. "I'll be there in five, this man needs herbal treatments." With this, the robed man walked out of the room, darting past the large Roland and disappearing into the hallway.

"Come with us missie." Roland said to Asuna now, having walked into the room and kneeling by Asuna's side. "Dunno what Kagetarou has put you through but you're safe for now. Let's get you something to eat." Asuna, still being somewhat calmed by what Kagetarou had said, didn't resist as Roland helped her to her feet. The group headed up the stairs and into the hallway there. Asuna was still confused so she was only barely aware of what was happening.

In the end, it almost came to her as a surprise when she found herself sitting down. She realized that she was in a kitchen, as evident from the white tiles on the walls and the many kitchen appliances that were hanging on said walls. Roland had gone off to one of the benches and was doing something there. Soon he came back, putting something on the table.

"Here..." he said gently, "drink this." Asuna realized at the man had put a bowl of liquid in front of her. The liquid was a dark orange-brown colour and seemed quite viscous. Robert pushed the bowl a little closer to her, "It's rose hip soup" he said, "It's warm, you'll like it." Asuan eventually lifted the bowl, glancing at Roland while she did it. The man nodded at her and Asuna took a sip of it. It was warm, but not too warm, and the viscous liquid easily slipped down her throat. The mild taste remained in her mouth after she had swallowed it and she felt how the warmth spread in her.

"Th-thank you..." Asuna said after a while, feeling how the calm settled over her. Roland sat in front of her and his arms folded in front of him and a smile on his red face. Asuna kept drinking the soup, feeling more and more how she could begun to think straight.

"You starting to feel better now missie?" Roland asked her after Asuna had taken a deep breath. Asuna found herself nodding. Even though she felt exhausted she was at least somewhat clear in the head.

"W-where am I?" she asked after a few seconds. Roland hesitated for a second now.

"Where were you before?" he asked after a second. "Tell me that and I can tell you where you are."

"I... I was at a platform." Asuna said, "The... "world gate" it was called."

"Really?" Roland said now, "Go figure. Anyhow, you're in the city you might have seen from that platform. It's name is Megalomesembria, one of the biggest cities in the magic world. Currently you're in the Makoro harbour district. This place is my bar, Roland's Rathole. I'm an old friend of Kagetarou. Whatever he's been dragging around you in, you're safe here."

"He hasn't dragged me in anything." Asuna said, "He saved me... Takahata-sensei and I were attacked when we got here. That guy saved us."

"He did?" Roland asked, "I never figured you for a knight in shining armour." he said with a louder voice now, looking up and grinning. Asuna looked back to see how Kagetarou entered through the doorway, hunching down slightly to fit through it.

"It is a long story." the masked man said quietly. "May I request that you leave us alone Roland-dono? I have many things I need to speak with her about."

"Fine." Roland said, "There's more soup on the stove if you want missie. I'll go check on Grayson." With this he got up from his seat. "That's the healer if you wonder." he told Asuna before he walked out of the door Kagetarou had arrived through. When he was gone Kagetarou shut the door. Turning around, the man fell to his knees in front of Asuna before the girl could say anything.

"Forgive my earlier impertinence your highness." the man said, "But time would not allow anything else. As I said before, my name is Kagetarou of the Bosporous. I am an ally of your people and rest assured that I will ascertain your return home."

"W-w-wait!" Asuna said now, making Kagetarou stop. "I'm... I'm sorry but I don't know what any of this is about. All I know is that some guy showed up and told me that I was a princess and I've been on the run ever since."

"You... you do not remember who you are?" Kagetarou asked now, looking up at Asuna. Asuna found herself unable to do anything other than slowly shake her head.

"I..." she begun now, "I know I'm supposed to be the twilight princess of Vesper-something. But that's all. I-I just don't remember anything of it."

"How can this be?" Kagetarou said quietly as he got up. "Forgive me," he said now, "But this was not what I expected."

"It's okay..." Asuna said. Really, what else could she say? She was in the middle of a strange place, talking with people seemingly taken out of a fantasy-novel about her supposedly being a princess.

"But what about Takamichi-dono?" Kagetarou asked now, "How did he become involved in this?"

"He's my teacher." Asuna said, "He's the one who got me here."

"Your teacher?" Kagetarou asked. "Interesting..." Asuna looked up at the man when he said that. "I do not believe in coincidences your highness," the man said, "If he is your teacher, it is more probably connected to who you are. He must know all about it, there's no other explanation. If I may may be so bold as to suggest it, let us wait for him to regain consciousness, until he does so, we will not gain any answers."

"Yeah..." Asuna said, confused and disoriented as she was, she could buy his idea for now. It was now that someone knocked on the door. Before any of them could say anything Roland opened the door and came in, followed by the robed man. First now Asuna got a good look at the robed man. He was a short and lean figure, bespectacled and grey-haired despite his young age. His face had a gaunt, twitchy quality too, making him look like a weasel.

"You done here, "Roland asked, "Grayson's got news for you missie." Asuna's heart skipped a beat as she realized it had to be able Takahata-sensei and she almost flew out of her seat as she looked up at the man.

"Well.." the man, Grayson, begun now "He's pretty badly off, the burns on his back were enough that ideally he should be sent to the hospital. Still, that's hardly an option far as I've seen and I've done what I can. He'll survive, people like him doesn't die easily, but he'll probably remain unconscious for a while. I can't say exactly but I'd guess a few days at most."

Asuna didn't hear the last words, she had slouched together in her chair when hearing that Takahata-sensei would live. The relief was too much for her and she trembled as she put her face in her hands.

"Thanks you..." she whispered, "Thank you..." with the relief flooding her she felt how the exhaustion came too. She suddenly realized that she was so exhausted. When was the last time she had even slept? She realized that it had been when they had gotten on the plane, about a full day ago. Roland picked up on this now.

"You look like you need some sleep missie." he said. "Come on, let's get you tucked into bed. I've got a few spare beds available." he came up to Asuna and gently puffed her.

"Thank you." Asuna said, getting up from the chair she was sitting on and following Roland out of the room. Now she paid a little more attention to where she was. She was walking through a narrow hallway with walls painted bright yellow. She followed Roland up one of the stairs, noting how much the stairs creaked, and was led into a small room which main furniture consisted of a pair of small beds. A lone window at the other end of the room gave some light together with the lamp hanging in the roof.

"Here you are missie." Roland said, "It's not grand hotel, but it's what I can offer."

"Yeah..." Asuna said absent-mindedly, walking into the room . The strain of this long journey finally took it's toll on her and she collapsed onto the bed. She was still confused, uncertain and afraid, but her exhaustion overrode that and she fell asleep.

* * *

Outside the door Roland rubbed his temples, sighing deeply. By the fates, that girl had seemed nearly broken, a terrified and confused little kitten that would have died a long time ago had she not been looked after. The large barkeep wondered what the hells Kagetarou was up to now. Amongst the different adventurers he had the sometimes dubious pleasure to call friends Kagetarou was one of the more level-headed and reasonable, however weird events followed him like a curse at times. Out of nowhere the man could find himself embroiled in huge things, his sudden befriending of the legendary warrior Jacobus Rakan after one of the most infamous drinking binges Granicus had seen in modern times came to mind here.

Roland hadn't been an adventurer for nearly ten years now but he could see that this would be another of those big things. Whatever it was, it was time to slap some answers out of the taciturn shadow-master. He headed down the stairs and slowly rolled his neck, he didn't doubt that Kagetarou would try to keep his mouth shut so he'd have to be very persuasive about the whole thing. When he reached the kitchen the shadow master was quietly talking to Grayson, the bar's resident healer, spell-weaver and general bitch.

"Go check the beer-supplies Grayson." Roland said with a grunt, making the small man look up and nearly flinch at the look on his boss' face.

"You got it boss." the small man said before he zipped out in a second, leaving Kagetarou alone with Roland. Kagetarou turned towards Roland now, the fat barkeep sitting down by the table.

"So what exactly are you up to Kagetarou?" Roland asked the man as Kagetarou sat down at the other end of the table. Roland didn't expect an answer right off though and he was not surprised when Kagetarou only shook his head.

"I am sorry Roland-dono." he said quietly, "But I cannot tell you."

"Don't give me any shit about integrity or client security," Roland said, a steely tone in his voice, "I've currently got one of the members of the crimson wing bleeding all over my staff room, a girl sleeping in the guest room that reeks of troubles and for some reason I've got a feeling that whatever happened at the world gate will be all over the six o' clock news. If, or rather when, things go crazy because of whatever is happening here me and my employees are going to be right in the middle of it. Either you spill your beans or I'm throwing you all out of here head-first."

"I know it is a lot to ask Roland-dono." Kagetarou said, nodding his head in agreement with his words. "But if you would know you would only be put in an even greater risk. This is not like before, my silence is out of concern for you and your employees. Also, due to this I must leave the girl in your care for a while."

""What?!" Roland exclaimed now. "Do you think I'm running a tainted daycare!? I've got my hands full managing this place and I don't have time babysitting anyone!"

"Roland-dono, I beseech you..." Kagetaro begun now, however he was cut off before he could finish.

"No!" Roland roared, slapping his hand into the table hard enough to leave an imprint in the steel surface, "I'm not your tainted mother! I'm not running a daycare! You give me some straight answers right here and now or you're all out on the streets before you know what happened!" With this Roland leaned back, folding his arms and glaring at Kagetarou. "Ten, nine, eight, seven." he begun counting, setting a timer for the shadow-user to answer.

"I cannot tell you because I do not know!" Kagetarou said now, "Until Takahata-dono has awoken I cannot give you any certain answers."

"Then give me what you think." Roland said, "Six, five, four, three, two."

"Very well." Kagetarou said, "But I warn you, you'll wish that I had not told you. The consequences of you knowing is upon your head and I wash my hands of whatever may come of this."

"I'm a big boy Kagetarou." Roland said dryly, "I can take care of myself."

"Ever when your enemy is the Megalomesembric black ops?" Kagetarou asked him gravely. Roland blinked now. "I found that girl by the world gate, she and Takahata-dono were engaged by black watchmen, a full hundred of them. I recognized that girl the second I saw her. I've seen her before, eleven years before, when I visited Sato-dono's home and met his youngest sister."

"What?!" Roland asked now. "Okay, are you seriously trying to tell me that that girl..."

"She's an identical copy of her." Kagetarou said, "She has no memories of what happened but when considering what did happen it is fully reasonable that the shock made her forget. Yet memories of no memories, she looks exactly like princess Asuna. She even has the same name."

Roland started at Kagetarou with wide open mouth at this. After a while he closed the mouth and swallowed. He put one arm on the table, seemingly needing to support himself, and soon his head landed on the arm.

"If I didn't know you were such a stickler for honesty I'd throw you out of here right now." Roland said into the table after a while. "Tainted hells..." he continued with a groan, almost physically feeling how everything got so very complicated by the second.

"Due to this I must leave for a few days." Kagetarou continued, "They will most probably already have scryers looking for me and I'll have to draw them away from here, letting the worst die down before I try to move her from this place."

"So you expect me to hide a tainted princess here for how long?" Roland asked. If she really was the princess of that poor country Roland couldn't possibly throw her out of here. Vespertatia was to many Magalomesembrians a national shame, Roland was one of them. The things his country had been doing there for the past ten years were all too often things that made the rotund innkeeper sick. He looked up at Kagetarou now, a tired look on his face. "Well?"

"Thank you Roland-dono." Kagetarou said now, "And at most for a few days, I'll head north and lose them by the Hellas border. I'll be back before the end of the week."

"Good," Roland said to the man, "I'll look after her, now piss off before I crack your head into the wall."

"Farewell." Kagetarou said now, stepping back and ending up in one of the shadows of the room. It darkened for a single second and when it brightened again the man was gone without a trace. Roland sat up straight now, leaning backwards to stare at the roof.

"Grayson!" he yelled now, making the figure that had been hiding by one of the doorways start. After a second the small man tip-toed into the room from the main room behind the bar-desk where he had been sent., smiling nervously."Look here." Roland said, "I won't crack your head for this but if you say as much as a word to anyone about this, it's your head."

"What about sir?" Grayson asked now, "All I heard was that the girl was a slave girl who Kagetarou found on the road a while ago." Roland blinked as the man put his hands together in a gesture of sincerity, "He deposited her here for the time being, only a few days. When he returns it is because he's here to collect his slave and head to Nyandom. As much as you're irritated by it you could use the extra help and the girl seemed nice enough." Grayson smiled widely at his boss now and Roland only stared at his weasely employee.

"And Takahata?" he asked after a second.

"Why wouldn't he too be an old acquaintance?" Grayson asked, "You know a lot of people, why couldn't he be one of them too?" Roland blinked again. Suddenly the large man barked with laughter.

"You've got yourself a five drachma raise for that one!" Roland laughed, slapping his scrawny employee in the back hard enough that the man was sent crashing into the floor.

"Th... thank you sir..." Grayson groaned as he fought to regain the air in his lungs.

* * *

Kagetarou dashed across the rooftops at top speed. In a blur of motion the man was leaping from spire to spire, covering immense amounts of ground in mere seconds. To the bystanders he was at most a blurry shape moving too fast to see anything more than briefly and who was followed by a powerful air-vent. To the squadron of lance-riders, however, he was easy to see since they were moving at the same speed as him. A full dozen of blue-robed men were following him, mounted upon long, sleek lances, about ten feet long and pearly-white. They were all carrying long weapons, shaped like blades but held more like lances. Despite the man's immense speed the lance-riders followed him, the bonus of being in the air giving them to advantage here.

"_We're following the suspect across the rooftops,"_ one of the men mentally communicated with command central, _"He's heading towards westward Plaza." _

"_Roger that fifth squadron." _central said, _"Is the two others with him?" _

"_He's carrying two shadow cocoons." _the squadron-commander reported, _"Human sized, it's probably them."_

"_Copy that." _central said_, "Engage and capture him." _

"_You heard him!" _the commander mentally spoke again, this time addressing the men following him. _"Open fire!"_ The men all raised their blades and pointed them at the man. Bright flashes of light erupted from the ends of their lance-swords, sending orbs of magic against the running man. Kagetarou, however, started zigzagging with practice ease. The man somersaulted, spun and twisted left and right, up and down. At times he left the rooftops to run on the sides of the buildings, not hampered at all by it. The orbs all hit the buildings, large, bright globes of magic bursting into life where they landed.

The shadow-user glanced back at the pursuers. Behind his emotionless mask his mind was rapidly working. They were only normal watchmen, no threat to him. Still, he couldn't risk them getting a lucky shot in that would trap him inside those globes. Leaping into the air and dodging another salvo via a mid-air shundo he processed the situation. He could have torn them apart with his shadow-bands a long time ago yet he had hesitated to do so. The shadow-user wasn't a cruel or bloodthirsty man, nor did he despise the enforcers of peace as a principle.

The men behind him would be normal people, men who had entered the watchmen out of a desire to serve and protect the people and the order. They would have families, children. Those were not the kind of men he turned his shadow-bands on lightly. Still, there were other ways. Kagetarou moved in a split-second, leaping backwards. Before the watchmen knew what had happened he was already behind them with his arms stretched out towards them.

"_Ducentae Lanceae Umbrae!_" Like two hundred-headed hydras his razor-sharp shadow-bands shot out, a hundred from each hand. Two hundred twisting and slithering daggers flew through the air now, daggers that moved at blinding speeds. The watchmen only had time enough to look back before he had, in a storm of black bands, sliced their flying lances to pieces. With surprised screams the men begun falling freely, all control over their flight gone as they tumbled towards the ground at terminal velocity. Another mid-air shundo helped Kagetarou continue his dash as the watchmen's dampening seals kicked in and slowed their falls.

It was a solution fit for the moment. Kagetarou did not relish in death and his power was great enough that a manoeuvre as the one he just had performed did not slow him down overly. He kept dashing across the rooftops. He'd head north, this speed was one he could keep for a few hours and that would be enough to reach the Argire straits. The mists there would be a good place to lose the worst of the pursuers and from there he could work his way to the Hellas border. Unless Megalomesembria wanted an international incident they'd stay out of Hellas, the only nation still able to challenge them.

Still, a sudden blaring of his sixth sense made him dash to the side and only barely avoid another swarm of capturing orbs as more lance-riders came after him. This time they came from three directions, following him not only from behind, but from the left and the right too. Kagetarou twisted again, throwing his arms out to the side as he unleashed another pair of shadow-band swarms against them. Wordlessly, coldly and precisely he picked them out of the air with great speed.

Thus far they had only sent the normal watchmen after him and that Kagetarou could deal with. However as it were he realized he'd have to get out of the city quickly, before they could send their best after him. He came to think of the simplified, at times ridiculous, power-scale shown to him once by Jack Rakan. Power-wise, Kagetarou belonged to the illustrious AAA-class, the giants who could face down entire armies and come out on top. The men he faced now were at best B-class. Strong, but nothing more than a pawn in the great rankings of power. Yet he knew from the experience that the Megalomesembrians had more to put up. The black watchmen, the elite, would be around A-class as a general rule. If things went really bad they could even call upon the Praetorians, the military elite. Those people were easily around AA-class and Megalomesembria always had at least a battalion's worth of them stationed in the capitol.

A thousand AA-class mages was not something he would be able to handle, especially not now when speed was of the essence. And even then, that didn't count the warships they might send. Kagetarou was as deep in trouble as he could be. Yet, in his mind he could see a teenage girl with fiery red hair and one green and one blue eye. That was reason enough to fight and he gritted his teeth as he leaped down into one of the large city parks, taking shelter amongst the trees.

Another image came to him now, the image of a lean young man with pale skin, red hair and green eyes, who wore a gold circlet with an emerald at the front to keep his bangs out of his eyes. The young man carried his long, sleek blade in its scabbard across his shoulders, one hand gripping the handle and the other holding the end of the scabbard. A smug smile was resting on his lips and his emerald eyes were glowing with amusement.

"_Sato-dono." _he thought to himself, _"I do not know if this was what fate intended or mere chance, but I swear to you that I will see your beloved jewel to safety, no matter the cost." _ As his thoughts left his old brother-in-arms he leaped into the air and out of the foliage only to come face to face with a squadron of black watchmen coming straight at him, thunder-blades at the ready. Kagetarou raised his hands again and summoned his shadows. As shadow and thunder met a deafening explosion ripped through the air, sending shock-waves through the trees below.

* * *

A/N: Aaaand we're finally back after a way too long break. Apologies for the delay my dear readers, revamping this fic has taken a lot of time but I'm back and now I feel I can take this stuff in a better direction, a direction that wouldn't totally ruin everything (I hope). SotF is back on track and even though updates might be slow, once a month on average, we're at least updating and if I get the pace up the updates will follow suit.

The most noticeable difference you might see is the removal of the whole Viridian Hawk idea, I realized after a while that nobody gives a toss about OCs and decided to delete them, instead we're seeing an old friend from the magic world, a cool figure I hope to see more of if possible.

So: see ya next chapter.


	5. The Rat's Hole

**Chapter five: The Rat's Hole.**

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* * *

  
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Asuna slowly woke up, returning to the real world again after her much needed sleep. Just like every day before this she at first thought that she had woken from a long, horrible nightmare. Sitting up she expected to see her room, Negi lying on the sofa and the first rays of daylight coming in as she sat about to run her newspaper delivery routes. However as always she realized that it wasn't dream.

But this time things were different, usually she would have become devastated by the fact and started to sob, but this time she didn't. The sights that met her stopped her grief and made it give way to curiosity. Soft crystal light from a lantern in the ceiling was filling the room she was in, a room that wasn't hers, and through the window on the wall she could see a city she knew wasn't Mahora.

The events of the last day came back to her and she remembered all that had happened: the flight from Mahora and the black-clothed man who had stayed behind, Chamo's return, the aid he had given them, the long flight to Wales, the sudden aid from that woman and the trip into the magic world, the ambush and Takahata-sensei's near death before that weird man had saved them. That place they had gone to then, the large man who had given her soup to drink and given her somewhere to sleep.

It was first now that she noticed the figure that was lying in the bed on the other side of the small room. It was Takahata-sensei! Asuna's heart skipped a beat now and she stood up. Takahata-sensei was lying in the bed next to her. In his face sat two white patches and a larger piece of bandage was taped to his neck. His eyes were closed and he seemed as if he was at peace. Asuna remembered yesterday, how close he had come to die for her sake.

"Takahata-sensei..." Asuna slowly got up to her old teacher's side and grabbed hold of a small footstool standing by the window. She slowly sat down on it, looking at Takahata-sensei's limp form. Remembering the fireball that had struck him yesterday Asuna looked down at the rest of his body, or rather the vague outline of it against the sheet covering his body. She slowly reached down and lifted the blanket to look. Perhaps she shouldn't do it but she felt like she had to see. All she was met with, however, was the sight of white bandages wrapped around his chest. They covered his back too, the back that had been scorched by the fires.

Fire... she felt how she should be remembering something when that word crossed her mind. Had she forgotten something? Out of nowhere a picking sensation came to settle in the back of her head. Fire... burning... Asuna closed her eyes and shook her head. It was as if she could feel the smell of fire in her nose, along with a faint, faint scream. But who's scream?

A sudden knock on her door made her start and her heart suddenly leapt into her throat as she spun around and looked at the door. The faint recollection vanished and she half expected someone to burst in and attack but nothing happened. After a moment, however, another series of knocks could be heard.

"Come in." She said hesitantly and the door opened. She wasn't really sure who she had expected to see but when the knocker was revealed to be a the large, red-faced man she was surprised. The man was standing in the same clothes as yesterday, only the apron seemed a little dirtier and a towel was slung over his shoulder.

"So you finally got up." the man grunted hoarsely. "I was wondering if someone had drugged you."

"What?" Asuna asked, "Why?"

"You've been asleep for sixteen hours missie." the man said, rubbing his hands on the towel "You must have been exhausted beyond words. Asuna blinked at the man's words now and picked up her cell phone to check the time. Sure enough, she had been out for about sixteen hours.

"Whoa..." this was something new, she hadn't ever slept for that long before. Still, when thinking of everything that had happened yesterday it wasn't that strange. "Then she remembered something. "But Takahata-sensei." she begun now, "How is he?"

"Don't worry." Roland said, making a dismissive gesture with his hands, "He's alive as you can see and he's doing fine. Grayson is checking on him every now and then and he's doing better than anyone could expect. He'll be up and running soon." Asuna couldn't help but take a deep, relieved breath now. If Takahata-sensei would have died she didn't know what she would have done. "Now that we're gotten that taken care of." Roland continued now and Asuna looked up just in time to see a ball of clothes come flying towards her. She caught it just before it smacked into her face and she nearly fell off her chair.

Asuna took a look at what she had caught. It was a set of strange, deep blue clothes consisting of... well, she could identify the corset and a strange frilly skirt that seemed to be knee length at the back up only thigh length at the front but that was it. She looked up at Roland now with a confused look on her face

"Sorry missie but I ain't running a daycare here." Roland said, "You want to stay here, you'll have to help out. I'm swamped with work as it is and I need the help. Freshen up in the shower 'cross the hallway and change into those things, come down into the kitchen when you're done, we've got a lot to do." With that, the man closed the door and left Asuna was left staring at the clothes. She, help out? She didn't know anything about running a bar for pete's sake! A sudden sound from Takahata-sensei made her turn around though, her heart leaping in her throat. However the man was still unconscious, he seemed to have groaned or something. Asuna looked at her old teacher and down at the clothes again.

After a while she put the clothes on her bed and took off the outer robe she was wearing As long as Takahata-sensei was unconscious she had to make sure they had somewhere to stay. She walked off into the hallway, looking left and right as she exited, and went into the shower-room, holding the bundle of clothes in one hand.

* * *

A few minutes later Roland, who had been pushing some tables around, looked up from his work to see Asuna hesitantly come out of the kitchen. Roland looked at her with a neutral look on his red face as the girl walked out into the room, wearing the clothes he had given her. They consisted of a corset, a pair of tight, leg-hugging shorts, a skirt reaching the knees in the back and the thighs at the front, a top only reaching down to her waist and which had a heart-shaped hole in the middle of the chest, right above where the corset ended. Two boots were reaching two thirds up to the knees and a pair of gloves reaching all the way to the elbows.

"So yeah..." Asuna said now, "What did you..." Suddenly, however, the man interrupted Asuna when he exploded with laughter. Asuna nearly started as the man collapsed onto the table he was pushing and howled with laughter. The man pounded his fist into the table as his face only became even more red, now being roughly the colour of a tomato. Asuna was left standing by the doorway, wondering what she had done now.

"For the fates' sake missie." Roland said after a few seconds, "You never worn a corset before?" the man had recovered from his laughing spasms now and looked at her with eyes glittering with amusement.

"Uh..." Asuna said, "No." She admitted, making Roland blink.

"Really?" he grunted with a surprised voice, "Well that was a new one. Didn't know they didn't have corsets in the old world. Come here missie, you've put the clothes on totally backwards, I'll help you fix it." Asuna gave the man a suspicious glance now. She didn't trust this guy completely yet. After a second the man rolled his eyes however. "Oh please," he said, "I'm old enough to have daughters your age, don't think I'm about to try anything."

Asuna eventually obliged, walking up the the man, who motioned for her to turn around. She turned her back on him and the man grabbed hold of some threads hanging from the back of the corset and pulled them roughly. Asuna gasped now, the feeling of her chest being squeezed together surprising her. Roland kept working with surprising speed, twisting, turning and changing seemingly every inch of the god damn thing. In the end Asuna could hardly breathe.

"There." he grunted , grabbing Asuna's shoulder and making her turn around. He noticed that the girl seemed short on breath and grabbed hold of her corset on the sides. With a rough pull upwards the feeling suddenly vanished and she could breathe again. However now the corset was currently pushing her bust up so that it was seemingly about to spill out of it. "Can you breathe now?" Roland asked and Asuna nodded. However, she felt more than a little self-conscious about the fact that her breasts was currently being pushed upwards, almost jiggling in the man's face. The man didn't even glance at her chest though, all he did was take out a small leather band from inside his pockets.

"Now." he begun, "According to Kagetarou you needed to stay hidden, right?" he held up the band and showed her it. It looked like a tiny belt. "This is the key to your safety." he said, "It's a fake slave-collar."

"Slave?" Asuna started at this. What was this about?

"Yeah." he said, "Short story, you're Kagetarou's slave, he found you a while ago and fell for you instantly. He's off on some dangerous stuff though and left you here for the time-being. Nobody looks that hard on slaves and you look exotic enough that it's plausible that Kagetarou would pick you up." He reached out to put the collar on her and Asuna flinched backwards.

"Wait here now!" She said, not comfortable at all with the idea of a collar.

"Hey!" Roland said, his commanding voice making her stop. "It's all right," he said, "it's a dud so it can't be used on you. Just stay humble at all times and work hard, that way it'll be convincing. Remember that as a slave your value is determined by how hard you work." With this, his meaty fingers encircled her neck with the collar and clasped it shut.

"There." Roland grunted as he got off the table he had been sitting on, "Now, let's see, let's see, let's see..." he looked around the room. "Yeah, you any good with a kitchen-knife?" Asuna shook her head, remembering the last time she had tried to cook and ended up with the frying pan burning, smoke filling the dorm room and the pot actually exploding (she could for the love of god not figure out how that had happened).

"Bah." Roland said, "Well you'll have to do it anyway, I think it's best if we hold you inside. Come here." Roland took her into the kitchen and showed her the cold-room where he stored vegetables. His large hands begun to move across the shelves, picking down large amounts of different vegetables, many of those being things Asuna had never seen before. Eventually he had filled a large box standing at his feet with vegetables and lifted it. Asuna backed out of the room as Roland came out and put it on a working desk.

"Here." he said now, "I'll need this sliced within the hour. Cut small pieces, we're gonna make a hot sauce out of it, when the night starts getting late people will want something to eat and with these." he grinned as he showed Asuna a series of small, oval fruits, "they'll have to buy something more to drink. When you're done come talk with me, I'll show you how to fry the meat. Knives are there."he pointed at one of the drawers and with that Roland left the room. Asuna was left standing in front of the large box of vegetables and the cutting board. She? A slave? Even though it was just a cover... she felt at the collar around her neck, thinking about how absurd the whole thing sounded. Eventually she sighed, chanted a small prayer to Buddha and put the first vegetable in to cutting board. Hopefully the vegetables wouldn't explode.

As she grabbed the knife, however, she suddenly felt memories return. She remembered the feeling of holding the blade her pactio with Negi had given her. A sudden impulse made her hold out her arm, the knife gripped as she would have held the giant sword. Raising her arm, she then snapped the knife forwards, tightening her grip at the end to stop it before it flew out of her hand. It felt so similar... the heavy knife reminded her of the sword so much. She'd never see it again though... from what she had understood, pactio cards stopped working when the magister who had given you it died.

Grief suddenly came to her again and she put down the knife, resting her hands on the table. A sniff escaped her now as the memories who had been swarming her for days came again. Negi... he was dead...

"_I'm sorry, but I had to do it. There is no other way for me to go."_

"_Damn it Asuna, it's too late!"_

"_Help me..."_

That sword, she had stabbed him with it, killing him. The blade supposed to be used for his sake had killed him. It was like a litany read in her head, over and over again her guilt pounded in her head. Suddenly she smashed her fist into the table, making the vegetables and everything jump. No, not now, she wasn't allowed to break down again! Takahata-sensei needed her to do this, if they couldn't stay here they had nowhere else to go. Asuna picked up the knife again and started to cut. Takahata-sensei was alive, Takahata-sensei was alive. She forcibly replaced the litany being chanted in her head with this, a chant of hope, of what she could do something about.

"Oi, Roland!" a voice suddenly yelled behind her and Asuna spun around to see a newcomer. A tall, beautiful woman was currently standing in the entrance of the kitchen, looking out across the bar towards Roland. She was nearly six feet tall, with long, white hair, brown skin, a curvy body that easily put Asuna's to shame. Her eyes were deep black and her lips perfectly red. Most notably however, she had two horns curing along the sides of her head. The woman turned to look at Asuna now, seemingly first now noticing the girl.

"Huh?" She asked, "Who are you?" Asuna hesitated now, standing with the knife in her hand and being unsure about what to do. The woman's eyes drilled directly into her and Asuna was still unsure enough that she didn't find anything do say. Not to mention, the girl's presence was intimidating to say the least and Asuna was timid enough at the moment that she actually became afraid. The woman took a step against Asuna and the girl couldn't help but flinch.

"Yeah what's the..." Roland said as he came in from the main room, throwing his towel over his shoulders. He couldn't finish though before the woman had tacked him and pushing him into the main room again.

"What in the name of Vrixas have you done you fat slug?!" the entire kitchen seemed to suddenly tremble as the roar echoed through it. Asuna nearly jumped in fright at the scream. "Have all the booze gone to your brain or does your greed know no bounds?! How dare you involve yourself in that shitty business?! Haven't we done enough work for you, are you creeping off to those Kadeshi scumbags without even talking to us about it?!" the roar kept echoing as Asuna looked out into the main room and saw Roland being pressed against the bar desk with the woman's fists locked around his collar, actually lifting him off the ground. The woman's face was locked in a visage of white-hot fury as she shook Roland and the man's face was becoming redder and and redder by the second.

"I can't believe you!" the woman continued, "How old is she?! She can't be more than fifteen, how dare you!"

"W-w-wait!" Roland managed to press out now, his meaty hands clenching around the woman's and unbending them from his collar. "Damn it Olympe!" he snapped as he got his feet back on the ground, "That girl isn't even mine!"

"Oh right!" Olympe answered sarcastically, "So what? Did they open a rent-a-minor in the city when I wasn't looking?" Asuna stared at the scene, feeling like another memory came back to her.

She remembered something similar, an image burned into her mind of a beautiful young woman, blonde, who was pushing a slightly younger man or boy against the wall. The woman's face was calm but her eyes were shooting thunder and the air around her was trembling

"_Hey neechan." the cornered young man had said, grinning as widely as he could, "What gives me the honour?" _

"_My bedroom..." _The young woman said now, "_Is currently filled with frogs." _

Now Olympe's head snapped to the side, her burning gaze falling upon Asuna and making the girl flinch as the sudden movement tore her from the memory "See that?!" Olympe snapped now, "Not enough that you buy minors, you deal with those abusive Kadeshi scumbags too, right?!"

"She's not..." Roland begun now, trying to defuse the situation.

"She's bloody terrified!" Olympe cut him off, "You better give me a damn good reason for all this and unless it's better than my figure you'll have a new asshole in five minutes!"

"Gladly!" Roland said, "Can I talk now teacher?" he asked Olympe with a sarcastic tone. The girl only folded her arms and glared at him. "Firstly." he said, "With you screaming your head off like a banshee it's no wonder she got frightened, secondly, she's not my slave, she's belonging to an old friend of mine."

"What?" Olympe's face didn't show the least belief in what the man said. She only looked at him as if he'd just said the most retarded thing in the world.

"It's Kagetarou," Roland continued now, "He wanted me to keep his slave here for a few days while he's off on something. I put her in work since I thought she could help you girls out, I know how much work you have to do. Does that suffice for you, you crazy woman."

Olympe looked straight at Roland after the man finished, drilling her eyes into the man's. After a few seconds she turned to look towards Asuna. Asuna, who remembered that she was supposed to be a slave, quickly lowered her gaze, looking down on the ground and bowing. For a few seconds all she could see was the floor as Olympe's eyes drilled into her head.

"Fine." the woman said after a few more seconds, "But when shadowhead is back I want a word with him. So, what's your name?"

"Asuna." Asuna told her the name quickly."M-mistress." she added after a few seconds, making the woman groan.

"Oh Vrixas..." the woman said as she slapped her hand across her face. "A slave named after a princess and she's Kadeshi-trained to a fault. Is the shadowhead having some kinky ideas or something? Never figured him for that kind of BDSM pervert."

"Hey!" Roland's bark was followed by a sharp crack and a yelp from the woman as she leaped skywards and clutched her ass. Roland had just folded his towel and given Olympe a whip across the butt. "You've got better things to do than to insult my friends. I want you on frying on the double" Olympe, who had spun around with hellfire glowing in her eyes, was stopped when she saw Roland fold his arms and raise his face slightly. His entire posture was radiating authority and Olympe soon backed down.

"Fine." she said, "You put the girl on the sauce, right? I'll help her with the smoke."

"Good." Roland said," Now move it!" his voice suddenly roared with enough force to make Olympe jump backwards and retreat into the kitchen, dragging Asuna along. Before Asuna knew what had happened she was already back in the kitchen.

"Who-wee." Olympe said, "Don't worry sweetie." she said as she walked up to the stove and raised her hand. Without any warning a bold of flame shot out from her fingers and hit the stove, igniting it instantly. "He's rarely that loud." Asuna didn't say anything though. Actually, she wasn't sure she could. At the moment she felt like that time in elementary when the class has set up a play. She had had such bad stage-fever and had almost puked. She was supposed to be a slave, right? Well how did she do that?! She realized she just had to run on instincts and slowly begun to cut the vegetables again, wishing desperately that Olympe wouldn't talk to her any more. Fate wasn't with her today though.

"So when did the shadowhe, sorry, Kagetarou, buy you." Olympe said now as she was furiously stirring something in the fires, "Last I met him was a year ago and he didn't have you then so he must be a kinda new master, right?"

"Y-yeah." Asuna said quietly, looking down at the cutting board.

"Look sweetie." Olympe said, "You don't have to be afraid of me. I won't bite. The reason I was yelling back there was that I thought Roland had gone to Kadeshi slavers for a new slave. I made it clear a good while ago that if he ever had anything to do with them I'd quit in a moment's notice."

"O-okay." Asuna said, doing her back to agree. However she was confused, Kadeshi? What was that? Olympe looked at her now, capturing Asuna's eyes as the girl glanced at the horned woman. The horned woman smiled at her now.

"It's nothing against you sweetie." She said, "I just can't stand those bastards, the Nyandom treaty means nothing to them and well... I guess you know more about them than anyone else here so you can probably figure why I despise th..."

"Shut up and work!" Roland's voice roared now, making the pans hanging along the walls rattle. Asuna started again now and quickly returned to her vegetable chopping. However Olympe looked back into the hallway and countered with a yell of her own.

"I can say the same for you, lard-sack!" She yelled, "if you can eavesdrop on us doesn't that mean you've got too little to do?" Still, despite her coarse words she kept stirring in the fires and Asuna was shocked. What was with this attitude? It wasn't like anything she'd seen before. Was this how people were here or was it just these people? She would have hoped that Kagetarou would return soon, had it not been for the fact that things would probably get even stranger later on.

Remembering something she had been taught by Setsuna during one of the few sparring sessions they had managed to have Asuna decided to try to remain in the present. Everything was just so damn weird at the moment and she remembered how Setsuna had said that when you couldn't do anything about a certain situation it was best to focus on what you could affect. And if the only thing she could affect at the moment was the veggies, well the veggies it was.

* * *

The giant metal container shook again, jerking nearly a full foot forwards with a crashing sound that reverberated throughout the large, stacked warehouse. The guards that were posted beside it started at the whole thing and one of them swore.

"How long do we have to guard this accursed thing?!" he snapped. They had been watching over this thing, whatever it was, for a full day now. Ever since the large package had arrived from an unknown point of origin it had been under watchman monitoring. The five men that currently were on shift didn't know what was inside of it, only that it seemed really pissed off. A guttural roar was the only thing the man got for an answer to his question as his team-mates only looked at it with queasy looks on their faces. They knew these kind of steel boxes, they were used to transport powerful beasts and were saturated in dampening and restraining seals. If whatever was inside this thing could still do this...

"Our shift is over in about an hour." one of the other watchmen said after a while as he looked at his watch.

"That hour can't pass fast enough." another said. "This thing gives me the creeps."

"Yeah..." the first man said, sitting down on a metal barrel. "I didn't join the watchmen to watch cargo that hates me. I hoped I'd left that behind when I quit being a mall-guard."

"You were a mall-guard?" the third guard asked now. "Why haven't we heard that until now?"

"Because it sucked a dragon's ass." the first man said with a face that was equal parts irritation and exasperation as he remembered, "I spent half the time explaining to fat ladies that two per household wasn't negotiable and stopping snotty kids from shoplifting. Hardly something you reminiscence about fondly." a pair of the other watchmen laughed now, their colleague's face managing to lift the mood somewhat. That, however, was also everything they had time for before the container jerked again, the sharp crashing of something hard slamming into the metal tearing through the air. The men started again.

"What is this thing about anyway?" the first man asked no one in particular. "Whatever is in there is angry and powerful enough to do this, and they bring it to the capitol? Hey James, you were here on the first shift, right?"

"Two shifts with this shit?" another man asked now as he looked at James, "Why? The watchman named James sighed now.

"Well..." he said, "the wife's pregnant and she's been going on about how we should get a new flat, we're too cramped for the kid as it is so I'm pulling double shifts. But what did you wonder?"

"Did you see the ones who bright the thing here?"

"Yeah I saw them." James said, "And well... if those guys weren't with the Shadow Ops I'm the Thousand Master."

"Shadow Ops and pissed off thing-in-a-box." the first watchman said, "Makes you wonder if five men is enou..." before he could finish another crash resounded through the large warehouse. This time it was deafening and it was accompanied by the ripping scream of metal being torn asunder. The men all leapt to their feet with their hearts caught in their throats. Looking back, they saw how a large, gaping maw had been torn through the metal and an earth-shattering roar tore through the air. And out of this maw, accompanied by the blood-freezing howl of a primal and savage monster, it came.

Fangs stripping with froth and saliva, eyes shining with predatory rage, a giant body filled with rippling muscles, long, sharp claws scraping against the concrete floor. The beast was free.

"Oh no!" one of the watchman screamed in fear as the beast came out of the container, "Barriers!" All of the men immediately wove unincanted spells, with a speed and skill that was the pride of their corps they threw up a series of large, magical walls around the beast, trying to contain it.

Yet, it was for naught. The beast's fangs tore down the barriers, like a knife through paper, and before the watchman could recover the beast was upon them.

* * *

Asuna never thought she'd feel bad for not being a good slave. After Olympe had arrived Roland's other employees had shown up. The second woman had been a human in her early twenties named Jennie, a blonde, blue-eyed ditz who also had one of the most ridiculously oversized busts Asuna had ever seen. She was easily the size of Shizuna back at Mahora – perhaps even bigger – and she had immediately introduced Asuna to her giant bosom as she had, in a fit of adoration of Asuna, given her a bone-shattering hug that had squeezed Asuna so far into her bosom that Asuna had expected to drown.

Third had been a cat-girl(of all things) named Matilda. Asuna had come to the conclusion that she had ended up in an otaku's wet dream as the catgirl had started to cuddle with her, wildly purring, as she reached the same conclusion about Asuna as Jennie had done. Thankfully Roland had sent Matilda to work with a towel-whip to the butt, same as he had done with Olympe.

The fourth girl had thankfully not gone cute-overload about Asuna. Then again, Asuna didn't think that Amanda, a half-snake, was a cuddly person. The green-skinned, black-haired snake-eyed and graceful woman had only looked at Asuna with a curious look at her face before she had hissed "Interesssting" and gone off to work. Asuna had yet again realized what a strange place she had ended up in. Of the six employees only three were even human, Olympe being something called a "Hellassi" and Amanda and Matilda being what Roland had told her was called "twinbloods", half humans and half "something else".

The thing was that each of these girls worked with an incredible speed and skill. As Amanda and Matilda were going through the three registers they were at the same time checking freezers. Jessie was pouring up snacks in the small snack-bowls they'd have under the counters for instant access if a customer wanted some and at the same time she was keeping an eye on the giant cauldron of hot sauce that was simmering on the stove. Asuna had already lost track of what Olympe was doing primarily, the woman was in three places at the same time it seemed, checking everything three times over, fixing a million small things and doing five other things. Roland and the weasely Grayson were down in the larder, carrying up barrels of different kinds of alcoholic things Asuna had never seen or heard of before. And in all of this all Asuna had managed to do was cutting the vegetables and now she was out in the wardrobe, checking so that the number tags on the coathangers were correct.

It was so weird, she felt like she was an embarrassment, like she was the unskilled and amateurish slave that her master kept mostly out of pity. Obviously it was all a facade, as Roland had said, but the collar around her neck kept making her uncertain. Having had enough wits about her to realize that she'd have to act consistent, Asuna had kept acting submissive and subdued. She knew that Takahata-sensei was still up in that spare room, lying unconscious as he had done for a full day now, and Asuna's work was the only thing that kept him there. She'd have to be a slave to save Takahata-sensei so she would. Yet why did she every now and then catch herself wishing that she was better at all this?

Whatever it was, the clock was approaching eight and soon the bar would open. Asuna felt like she was yet again back in elementary, waiting for the play to start and being certain that she'd screw up. She hated stage-fever... a sound behind her made her look back just in time to see Jennie enter the wardrobe.

"Hey sweetie." she said with a large, sunny smile. Asuna quickly remembered her role and bowed to the girl.

"Mistress." she said quickly. She had figured that as a slave she was in the lowest position of the hierarchy here, that meant they'd all be her superiors, right?

"No no no no!" Jennie said now, "Please call me Jennie."

"Okay m... Jennie." Asuna deliberately made a pause there. She was pretty good at this it seemed. Perhaps she was cut out to be an actor after all. Jennie gave her another smile now and hugged Asuna again. Thankfully she wasn't nearly as rough this time but Asuna still was freaked out by the size of her bust.

"There you go." Jennnie said. Asuna was somehow reminded of Chizuru from her class. Same ditzy smile, same body-shape(ridiculously curvy) and same maternal attitude. "That wasn't so bad, was it? You know you don't have to be like that here, half the charm with working here is that you can be as sassy as you want."

"Really?" Asuna asked. She was curious about this, why did they all act like they wanted to crack each others skulls with a frying pan?

"Yeah," Jennie said, "Roland pays us to serve beer, not to be nice." A surprisingly sly smile settled on Jennie's lips. "I mean come on! We've got Roland, the man tells up we're slow by slapping our asses and many times he roars just for fun. Olympe's got PMS all month and thinks she runs the show, Matilda would rather cuddle with the guests than work and Amanda makes politicians look sincere. But that's who we are, and Roland accepts that."

"...So what about you?" Asuna asked now, she couldn't help it. Yet, Jennie only raised her hands and threw them out to the sides in a dismissive gesture

"I'm an idiot!" she said happily, with the single must sunny expression Asuna had ever seen before.

Asuna couldn't help it, it was impossible. She sunk down on the counter, laughing wildly as Jennie's sunny expression and blatant admission of stupidity grated so much against each other that the whole thing became so funny that it was all she could do to break down laughing. Laughing so hard that her stomach begun to hurt, Asuna kept trembling as the laughter kept going, not stopping until almost a full minute later. For the first time in too long Asuna wiped away tears that weren't caused by grief as she stood up to face Jennie's lopsided smile.

"There you go." she said again, taking up a handkerchief and starting to wipe away Asuna's tears. "A cutie like you shouldn't look so down. If anything you should be angry."

"Wh-what?" Asuna asked, an aftershock of her laughing in the shape of a chuckle coming from her.

"Yeah," Jennie said, "You've got just the skin for it, not to mention your hair. And those eyes of yours? I swear that if you'd get mad they'd be filled with fire enough to make the guys scared and excited at the same time."

"Okay..." Asuna wasn't really sure she looked where all this was going. What did she know about what guys liked? The only guy she had been having any serious designs on was dead, and even as he lived Asuna hadn't known anything about what he liked in girls. She had known so little about him. His likes, his dislikes... what had she known about anything of that? Suddenly Asuna felt the grief returning again. Her sorrow over her lost love, the love she felt like she hadn't even really known who he was, returned in force.

Then, out of nowhere, she was kissed. Jennie grabbed hold of Asuna's face and turned it to face her. Before Asuna could react Jennie planted a deep kiss on her lips. Asuna was started enough that she felt like she was about to erupt into wild panic as she felt Jennie's tongue whip around inside her mouth. Flailing wildly, she tried to push her away but Jennie stuck to her like glued there. It was first almost ten seconds later that Jennie let go and Asuna back-pedalled into the wall in a second flat.

"Wh-wh-wh-wh..." Asuna croaked, having been utterly dumb-struck by the whole thing.

"You were slipping." Jennie said with a wink as she smiled at Asuna. Asuna could only stare at the buxom woman in shock. "No pouty faces around here," Jennie told Asuna, "That's rule number one."

"Uhm...." A voice said by the door and Asuna's head snapped to the right to see who it was. Not enough that she just had been molested, people had seen it too?! In the doorway two giant men – easily around seven feet each – were standing. They were tall, massively built and had long beards. Both of them were staring at the girls in the wardrobe with a slightly dazed look on their faces. "Should... should we come back later?" one of them asked dumbly now, pointing a meaty finger out of the door.

"No, no!" Jennie said, not one trace of being flustered or embarrassed in her voice, "Roland is in the larders, I'll go get him." With that, the buxom woman disappeared and Asuna was left alone in the wardrobe, suddenly wishing she could melt through the floor.

"So..." one of the men said uncertainly, his deep voice rumbling. "She did it to you too."

"She's done that before?" Asuna asked dumbly now, yet again wondering where the heck she had ended up.

"Oh yeah!" the other giant sand. "She did it to us too, first time we were here."

"And that health inspector." the first man said, "Good thing we're trained in CPR ."

"I think she did it to the other girls too, first time she worked here." the second giant said. "And I'm sure she does it to Roland all the time."

"She doesn't deny her race, that's for sure." the first giant concluded.

"R-race?" Asuna asked. Yet her mind was lucid enough that she could draw the conclusions herself. "She's not human, right?"

"Nope." the first giant said, "Succubus."

"Succu-what?" Asuna asked before she realized that she should probably know this. For half a second she froze, realized that she had probably messed up big-time. However the two giants didn't seem to mind.

"Lust demon." the first giant said, "Apparently there's seven kinds of demons shaped from humanity's vices or something like that. Succubi are formed out of lust."

"Still I mean," the second giant said, "She's not THAT bad. For a succubus she's really restrained about it all. Remember that one who hypnotized that village?" The first giant shuddered now.

"Gah." he said, "Yeah that one. Anyhow, don't worry, a kiss is the most you'll get from her."

"What the?!" Roland's voice came from the main room now and Asuna looked to see Roland stand in the doorway, his face taking on that red tone again. "Jennie!" he roared, "You're on the dishes tonight!"

"Wh... Roland!" Jennie's voice could be heard in protest.

"No objections!" Roland thundered, making Asuna almost cower behind the desk to the wardrobe. With a deep sigh Roland turned back to Asuna and the two giants. "If it's not one thing it's another..." he muttered. "You done in there missie?"

"Yeah." Asuna asked, snapping to attention. "All done here."

"Good," Roland said. "Also, this is the half-trolls Hrafnun and Skellig." he pointed at the two men, "They're our bouncers. Hrafnun, Skellig, meet Asuna, she'll be working with us here for a few days." the two men bowed slightly to Asuna now and Asuna returned the gesture. Outside people were starting to move and Roland took a peek outside. "Get behind the bar-desk missie." Roland told Asuna. "Grayson takes the wardrobe. Ask Olympe to show you how to work the tap."

"Yes master." Asuna said, leaving the wardrobe and heading for the kitchen.

* * *

Kagetarou took a deep, calm breath as he hung upside down under the rocky outcropping in the middle of the Argire straits. The fog was lying thick around him, obscuring all sight quite efficiently. The sharp smell of sulphur that permeated the straits due to the many hot springs and large deposits of sulphur that could be found all over the place made smell useless too. The crashing of the waves below, furthermore, obscured any sounds he might make.

He was safe here, at least for a few hours. He could still feel the enemy however, they were out there, looking for him. The enemy had sent a small squadron of coastal patrol ships after him and a contingent of black watchmen were scouring the straits bit by bit. Also, on the ships that were flying high above the thick fogs the Praetorians were waiting for the least signs of his presence.

Kagetarou doubted that these men knew who he was or who he was supposedly carrying, most likely they were mere pawns for the supremacists. Yet that did not make them any less dangerous. Kagetarou knew that the hard part was over, yet the part that came now was, even if not that hard, really tricky. He had to stay far enough ahead of them that they could not engage but close enough that they'd see, without the slightest hint of a doubt, as he passed to border to the Hellas Empire. Adding to this was the fact that he was exhausted, having dashed for twenty-four hours straight. He could keep going, the shadow-spirits he wielded gave him power enough to continue on, but it would not be a pleasant final dash. Supporting himself by anchoring his shadow-bands in the rock and tying it around his feet he could relax enough that his sore muscles could recover somewhat. The two fake cocoons resting on his back felt heavy and he wished that he could drop them. Yet, he knew that that was not an option. Everything hung on that the enemy thought he had carried the princess and Takahata-dono across the border.

He was tired, exhausted, hunted and pressed to the edge, yet Kagetarou of the Bosporous was happier than ever. Knowing whom was waiting for him at Roland's bar was a greater reason for him to fight than anything he had known in a decade. Sato-dono's beloved little sister had survived the cataclysmic fall of her homeland, the house of Entheofushia was still alive. With her, the hopes and dreams of Vespertatia were still alive.

Kagetarou swore yet again that no matter what he'd have to do he'd see her to safety. He took another breath now, readying himself as he heard a faint buzzing in the air. Looking to the side, he saw the large shape approaching through the mists. It was one of the coastguard's vessels, a small, fast airsub specializing in misty environments. Kagetarou wrapped his cloak tightly around himself, slowly counting down to zero. His skills in shadow magic was refined enough that he could remain hidden from its sensors, even here, as long as he was completely still.

The large ship soon passed him below, heading for one of the exists of the straits, and Kagetarou moved. He let go of the shadow-bands holding him to the cliff and dropped freely. He kept himself perfectly straight as he fell towards the metal roof of the ship, like a black stalactite he fell towards the metal below him. Only in the last moment Kagetarou acted, throwing his hands out of the cloak and intercepting himself. A clang echoed through the metal as Kagetarou slammed his hands downwards, stopping his descent.

Not perceived by Kagetarou but estimated, one of the men inside the airsub looked up at the ceiling.

"Heard that?" he said to the man on his left, who currently was looking at a monitor.

"Yeah," the other man said, "And I saw it." the man pointed at the scanning device he was monitoring. "It was just a rock."

"You sure?"

"If it had been him we wouldn't have heard the landing."

With an agile roll, cat-like in its grace, Kagetarou fell down into a split, lying flat on the roof of the airsub. This ship was going his way, it was heading for the westernmost exit out of the straits, the exit leading to Nyandom. The international waters ended just by that exit out of the straits, any Megalomesembric ships that did more than peek out of them would be intruding upon Hellas territory. The Hellas empire had a large fortress with state-of-the-art anti-ship cannons by the coast there and they had clear orders to fire one warning-shot only, the rest would be live charges. They'd see the ship but Kagetarou would be too small for them to notice unless he did something overt, it was a perfect escape.

"_Sato-dono..." _Kagetarou thought to himself,_ "Would you praise me for this? Say that it was a beautiful trickery?" _Sato didn't answer though, he never did. Never the less, Kagetarou remained still, at this speed they'd be out of the straits in about thirty minutes, he'd have to regain enough energy to outrun them fast enough that they could not open fire at him. If the Hellas border patrols could identify him there would be hell to pay. Taking deep breaths, Kagetarou readied himself for what was to come.

The minutes went by slowly, inexorably so. Kagetarou focused himself inwards to avoid the thinking that always came during these kind of waits. Uncertainty, second thoughts, hesitation, he didn't need that now. Instead, he focused on his breath and his heartbeats. He took one deep breath after another, feeling how each breath sent air out into his lungs and his blood, feeling how every heartbeat sent the invigorating oxygen out into his body. He did not relax, not one ounce, but he still rested. It was a curious trick he knew of, "super-resting" as Rakan-dono once had named it. It was taxing on the mind but invigorating for the body and he'd need every bit of physical strength for what waited ahead.

It felt like an eternity but soon the first hint of light became visible through the mists and Kagetarou tensed. He started squirming on the spot, warming the muscles which had grown cold after thirty minutes of stillness. His heart was starting to beat faster, exhilaration slowly coming to him. Half an hour of waiting, minutes of action at most. Kagetarou let his energies slowly build up. They'd notice it eventually but they'd be out of the mists by then and Kagetarou would be home free. He could see the sun clearly now as it was setting at the horizon. Five... four...three...two...one... the ship slowly slid out of the mists and the rocky coast of the Hellas empire became visible.

Kagetarou took one final breath and only a second later he exploded into motion. Throwing himself into a hunching position, he used his powerful legs to propel himself forwards as hard as he could. The ship under him jerked backwards from his powerful push, actually losing control for a second or two. Kagetarou reached one of the large stone pillars and pushed himself forwards again. Faster, faster, he had to go faster! First now the men on the ship had recovered enough to see him and they immediately moved to their positions.

Kagetarou had only managed to get about a kilometre away when the first weapons started to fire. Leaping between the cliffs, Kagetarou dodged the ship's light spirit-cannons with only the slimmest of margins. Bright lances of energy shot out from the four front-mounted batteries of the ship, tearing apart the cliffs where Kagetarou had been only a second earlier.

"_They are good." _Kagetarou thought to himself._ "Is this really the coastal guards? These kind of gunners should be mounting a navy cruiser's main cannon." he narrowly avoided a rain of rocks caused by one of the cannons that had started to work the cliffs ahead of him, trying to slow his dash by savaging the area. _

Yet, the small ship was far enough out of the pass that they had long ago left international waters and as Kagetarou looked ahead he saw a blinding light on the horizon. The fortress had spotted them and only a few hundred meters to the left of Kagetarou the air was suddenly filled by a single, humongous beam of light. Vaulting through the air, Kagetarou managed to see as the large beam sliced into the cliffs next to the small ship, tearing them apart in a titanic cascade of rocks and dust. The ship was cast to the side by the shockwave, its crew stunned and it's instruments going haywire from the sheer force of the blast. The fortress had fired its "Oculus Dracul", one of the tremendously powerful anti-ship cannons the Hellas empire had built along its southeastern shores to safeguard their lands from the Megalomesembric armada.

Kagetarou kept dashing, not paying the ship any more attention. They wouldn't violate the territorial waters of the Hellas empire just to get him. If they did, they would have another war on their hands as Hellas would viciously retaliate against the southerners who had humiliated the empire during the last war. Kagetarou was safe now. With another sun lit in the west by the Oculus Dracul he kept running towards Nyandom. He'd have to wait there until he could return in a few days time

* * *


	6. A terrible reminiscence

**Chapter 6: A terrible reminiscence**

**A/N: after the many, many stupid things that's happened to me in my life recently I figured that I should speed this up a little and therefore I present to you this chapter ahead of schedule. Hopefully I can do this without it biting me in the ass. Enjoy, a super special extra long chapter.**

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* * *

  
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Asuna was approaching a state of panic. Apparently Roland's Rathole was a popular place, as evident from the throngs of people who were crowding it. Behind the bar-desk Olympe, Amanda and Matilda were all zipping back and forth almost like blurs of motion, serving the customers with expert skill and a nearly unnatural speed. Asuna, who was doing this for the first time, was left trudging in what she felt was like slow motion. She could hardly keep apart the different orders she got and only working behind the bar was taxing enough. To do like the others were doing and go out with the beers to the tables was out of the question.

Still, there was nothing but fascinating sights that met her here. All the different kinds of people and clothing. At first she had felt like the clothes she was wearing was some kind of fetish-maid thing but looking around, this outfit made her fit right in. All sorts of strange outfits were on display and the people that wore them were just as diverse.

Not only humans were here but some of the Hellassi, if that meant dark skin, white hair and long horns, several large... beastmen was the best word Asuna could think of for the large, hairy beings who were human in shape but had furs, fangs, enimal eyes, whiskers and many other things. A few of these people were even stranger. One of the people Olympe had served had looked more like a demon than anything else. And above it all the music played, some kind of fast-paced music of a kind she had never heard before. The best way she could describe it was like techno made with water.

This really was a magic world.

At the moment she was pouring up something called "Balwar" - a pink, clear liquid that smelled water-melon, for a pair very plastered young men around their twenties. They had wanted four shots each and Asuna guessed that they'd probably be waking up in an alley or something. As she poured up the glasses the two men was looking at her with eyes foggy from the amounts they had been drinking. Both of them were smiling at her.

"H-hey..." one of the young man said, "You know somethin'?"

"What?" Asuna asked politely as she kept pouring, only throwing the man a quick glance to show she listened before she turned back to the pouring.

"You should tell your master t'.. t' put you in courtesan trainin'." the drunk said as he smiled widely "You... you're too cute t' jus' pour drinks."

There it came again. What was Asuna supposed to do now? Was that a compliment or a snide remark from his side? She still didn't have any clue about what it meant to really be a slave and that made her fumble in the dark as it were.

"I'll ask him." Asuna eventually said tersely as she poured the final glass and put the cork into the bottle again. Best to hurry on to another customer, this was not a situation she was comfortable in. As she turned to the register Roland came out of the kitchen and looked at her with a grin.

"Take a ten-minute break." he said as he wiped his hands on a towel. "Matilda can take over here."

"Thank you master." Asuna said, provoking a pair of cat-calls from the guests who heard her.

"Whoo!" someone yelled, "You've gone there have ya you old pervert?"

"Shut up!" Roland roared with a rumbling voice. "I'm borrowing her, is all." Asuna quickly retreated into the kitchen, eager to get away from the crowd. As the door swung shut Asuna took a deep breath, thankful for the silence that had come. She took a peek at the clock hanging on the wall and realized that she had good reason to be tired. She had been out there for three hours! And these girls did this every day? She suddenly had a lot more respect for them.

The kitchen was empty at the moment with the exception of Jennie, who was standing on a side-room and putting beer-glasses into the dishwasher. Almost as if the woman could feel her, Jennie turned around and winked at Asuna. Putting down the last glasses the buxom woman made her way into the kitchen. Asuna suddenly felt slightly nervous as Jennie entered. The busty woman stopped by one of the coolers and took out two bottles from it. She came up to Asuna and offered her one with a smile.

"Here you are." she said, "Best juice in the world. I couldn't get through the passes without it."

Juice... Asuna peered down at the bottle and tried to determine the contents but the bottle was a deep blue colour and she couldn't figure out what it was. Also... she had managed to get ever so slightly paranoid against the succubus.

"Man-juice?" she asked before she could stop herself. She was rewarded with the sight of Jennie, who had taken a deep swig of her bottle, spitting the juice all over the tile-covered walls. In the grips of wild paroxysms of laughter, Jennie was unable to answer as she collapsed on the floor. Jennie started howling loudly enough that Amanda peeked in from the bar-desk to see what was happening. Upon seeing Jennie laughing on the floor the snake-girl only shrugged and went back to work.

Jennie kept laughing and Asuna was left staring at the woman as her face assumed a colour reminiscent of Roland's. When Jennie finally started calming down she was exhausted and she had to grip hold of one of the desks to help herself off the floor.

"N....n.... no...." she managed to press forth between fits of laughter. "It's not man-ju..." that was all she could say before she was thrown into another hurricane of wild laughing. This time it was slightly shorter and she managed to stay on her feet but Jennie was still exhausted when she was done.

"It's balwa juice." she said, taking a deep breath. "They usually make Balwar of it but I like it better fresh."

"Okay," Asuna said, she didn't know what balwa was but eventually she decided to take a careful sip. She was surprised by the taste. She had expected some kind of citrus-like taste but this was more like apple, or perhaps watermelon, in a way. Anyway she liked it. "It's good." she said, nodding at Jennie. The succubus suddenly chuckled again and closed her eyes to run one hand over her face

"Man-juice..." she giggled.

"I'm sorry." Asuna said, "I'm not that used to..."

"Demons?" Jennie asked and Asuna nodded. "It's okay sweetie, I've had worse things said about me. That was actually just fun. Man-juice..." the girl started to giggle even more now and it took a few seconds for her to calm down. Asuna started feeling really embarrassed now and looked down at the ground. "No pouting!" Jennie said suddenly and Asuna's head snapped upwards. Jennie smiled at Asuna again, her blue eyes glittering with amusement.

"Hey, if this is the first time you meet a demon, don't you have a lot of questions?" Jennie asked now, seeming only just realizing it. "Come on, ask me, we can pass the time that way."

"You don't mind?" Asuna asked, thinking that it would be a touchy subject. Jennie only shook her head.

"No not at all, it's better that people know, right?" Asuna couldn't disagree with that logic.

"Well..." she started, "Those big guys at the door, they said something about shape. Can you change shape?" Jennie nodded.

"Yep." she said, "But only a little. When I settled here in the human world they told me that I could only have one human shape and my original. If I wanted to change to anything else I need a permit and until then, Roland has locked my transformation."

"He's locked it? How does that work?" Asuna continued now, actually getting intrigued.

"He's my summoner. That means he's in control of what I do. I can't disobey him." Jennie answered.

"Your summoner huh? Was it just random that he summoned you or something?" Asuna asked now.

"I met him while he was in my home realm," Jennie answered after a few seconds of contemplation, "You might not think it but back in the day Roland was a real hunk." Jennie actually seemed to shiver with delight as she remembered it. "It was in the fifth nether." she told Asuna "He was looking for some kinda artefact-thingy and I was one of the ones guarding it. Well, long story short, I was gonna seduce him to stop him but he simply stopped me just as I was about to put..."

"I get it!" Asuna said, she didn't want to hear what this girl and Roland might have done, that was too much info for her. Jennie paused for a second and then shrugged.

"Yeah well I failed pretty badly and after that I didn't get any jobs at all, nobody want a succubus that can't seduce. Then I'm summoned by Roland and one of his companions, they need a succubus to bribe some official. Well after that I told him that I didn't get any jobs now because of him. I was pretty petty with him back then." Jennie admitted as she scratched her eyebrows. "But then, a few years later, he summons me again. He's opening a bar and offers me a job first thing of all." Jennie smiled, "I've been here for twenty years now."

"Wow..." Asuna willingly admitted that she just had gotten her mind blown. That story sounded like something out of a video game. Was that the kind of world she had come to here? Still... she looked out through the circular window in the swinging door that separated the bar-desk from the kitchen. Roland was out there, rapidly serving the customers. Asuna looked at his red face, large belly and meaty face. "He really was a hunk?" It was hard to believe.

Jennie nodded. "He was A-grade, top-class oh-my-gods hunk, all of him. He wasn't pretty, not at all, nor was he especially graceful or anything. But his muscles, his jaw, his sharp features, everything was in short manly and hot."

"Okay." Asuna said. How people could change, as it was Roland's jaw could hardly be seen for the three chins, any eventual muscles would be packed in large amounts of fat and his face was constantly red and sweaty.

"Well I better get back to work." Jennie said as she finished her bottle of juice. "Keep up the good work sweetie."

Asuna looked at the clock, realizing that the ten minutes had passed. She finished her juice as well and put the bottle on the desk before she walked out into the din again. Roland looked up at her as she came out again and smiled.

"I'm gonna help out here." he told her as he closed the cashbox, "There's too much of a rush for you to do it alone."

"Thank you." Asuna said, happy for the company. With a deep breath she walked up to one of the guests and took his order, the night was still young.

It kept going like this for a good while now, Asuna and Roland manoeuvred around each other, taking orders, handing out beers and receiving the payment. Asuna realized after a while that it was almost like a dance, she went into a seemingly only half-aware state. She was in control of what she did and paid attention. But still, at the same time she could keep half an eye on other things as well. Eventually this gaze landed on the entrance. Even above the crowds she could see how Hrafnun and Skellig were ruthlessly directing the crowd, not letting anyone by without checking their ID.

* * *

About an hour later something happened. There was a lull in the flow of people and the bar was only half-filled, giving Asuna some much needed rest. She was currently sipping on another bottle of balwa juice when a group of men entered the bar. These people wore yet another kind of clothes Asuna had never seen before.

They were wearing trousers and a tunic, the latter reaching to the upper legs and the former tucked into rough boots. White coats, knee length and with a belt at the waist, rested over the tunic and on their heads a circular cap sat. A deep grey scarf was wrapped over their shoulders, providing a cape-like garment that kept his upper torso and shoulders covered with another layer of cloth. All of them were obviously drunk judging from their laughing, slightly staggering walk. However they were sober enough that Hrafnun and Skellig let them inside and they politely showed their IDs without any objections. It was now that Roland noticed them.

"That's right." he said to himself. "It's that day today." Asuna looked back at him.

"What day?" She asked, making Roland look at her. For a second he didn't say anything, only looked at her with an uncertain look on his face. In the end he spoke up though.

"It's the day of the Atlantean Eclipse." he told her, "Those men, they are members of the Sol Transitus faith, the state religion of Vespertatia." Asuna's heart skipped a beat now and she found herself turning to look at the men. Vespertatians... Vespertatia, but wasn't that the name of her homeland?! The girl felt how her heart started to pound in her ears – almost like a drum – as she watched the men making their way into the bar. Vespertatians, that would mean those people were her people. That would mean... if she was a princess... wouldn't those guys be her subjects?

The world started to spin for Asuna, it was too much for the girl to deal with and she ended up sitting down on a small footstool Roland had hidden under the counter. Her gaze came to alternate between the men and the back door, what was she going to do? Should she leave? Strangely enough it was Roland that made the decision for her. Seemingly knowing who the newcomers were, Roland leaned forwards over the counter and greeted them with a shout.

"Happy Eclipse to you all!" he greeted them, making the men answer how with surprised and happy voices. "How's the sun?" Roland continued.

"Shining like itself!" one of the men said now. It was probably a joke since both the men and Roland laughed at this. The group got hold of a free table and sat down while the funny guy came up to the counter now and leaned forwards on it. He looked intently at the different bottles that were lined up behind the counter when he noticed Asuna, who was keeping her face hidden in her hands, suddenly terrified. Would they recognize her? Did they know who she was? She was a princess, right? Wouldn't all of Vespertatia know how she looked then?!

"Hey..." the man said now, looking down at Asuna. "Are you okay?" He had turned from looking at the bottles to instead look at Asuna, who didn't move. She was in a state of panic and had acted on instincts. In the end Roland made the decision for her again as he twirled his towel and whipped her right on the left cheek of her butt. Asuna yelped and sat straight up, her face leaving her hands.

"Hey take it easy." the man said to Roland, having been started by what the man did. "There's no need to hit her if she's tired."

"She's just lazy." Roland said, "She'll take your order now." With that, he disappeared into the kitchen.

"All right..." the man said, turning back to look at Asuna. Asuna felt the cold hand of fear grip her heart. If these guys would be ending up bowing to her and everything Asuna knew that everything would go to hell. Why had she been forced to work here, why couldn't she had been allowed to keep hiding, why?! "You got any suggestions?" the man asked her now and Asuna, who had been frozen with fear, didn't really hear her.

"P-pardon?" she asked and the man pointed at the shelves.

"I don't know what to take," he said, articulating the worlds clearly "Do you have any suggestions?"

Had she been less tough Asuna would have fainted from the relief. It took her a few seconds to be able to start thinking again. "Well..." she begun, what did she know about the drinks of this world? Yet again she was right out in the middle of god-knew-where, doing things she didn't have any clue about. In the end she decided to go with what she knew. "There's been quite a lot of requests for Balwar," she told them, "Would you care for some?"

The man suddenly grinned. "Should have expected that." he said, "But sure, six shots of Balwar." he said before a voice from the tables made him stop. One of the men in the company - clearly the eldest in the group as evident from his white beard – spoke up now.

"Remember me." the old man said and the man by the desk snapped his fingers in realization.

"Sorry master." he looked back and apologized. The old man raised a hand in acceptance and the man by the counter turned back to look at Asuna. "Five balwar and one mineral water," he said now, "master doesn't drink." Asuna nodded in understanding and took up the bottle. It was first when she was pouring the second glass that she thought of something. Keeping half an eye on the glass she was pouring into, she took a peek at the man's neck. Was he a slave? Was that why he was calling the white-haired man master? Asuna didn't see anything though. As she finished the last glass and reached down to where she remembered that the non-alcoholic stuff was she decided to ask.

"You said master." she begun, "Does that mean he's your teacher or something?"

"He's our teacher, yeah." the man said, "It's a tradition in Vespertatia, old men who's famous for being really good in something scour the schools for suitable apprentices to carry on their legacy. Master is one of the best singers and dancers there is."

"Really?" Asuna asked. She was suddenly so very anxious again but this time it was it was not fear, but the feeling that she had to know more about this. This was her people, wasn't it? "Are you part of a troupe?" she asked as she gave him the mineral water. The man nodded.

"We're part of Ostian Legend."he said, "We've been performing at the Wilson theatre here in Mega." the man now handed her the payment and Asuna realized, to her dismay, that this was it. She couldn't ask them anything more after this, she had other customers to serve and they had other things to do.

"You have to show me sometime." she said as she pushed the payment into the register. Outwardly she smiled, as she was expected to do, but inwardly she felt like crying out in denial. She didn't want this to end just now. She wanted to know more about her people. The dismay was heavy in her as she saw the vespertatian man take the glasses, expertly balancing five glasses and one bottle of mineral water as he walked back to the table.

Her dismay was interrupted now, however. Another guest walked by the vespertatian and deliberately - even Asuna could see that – collided with him.

"Hey!" the black-haired, sharp-faced man who had walked into the vespertatian yelled as his clothes were drenched with the balwar. "The taint do you think you're doing you little shit?!"

"Well watch out where you're walking." the vespertatian said, "I was just trying to get to my table."

"You talking back to me?" the man said now before he roughly shoved the vespertatian backwards, making him stumble and nearly fall to the ground. A series of quick steps made the man stay upright, which only seemed to aggravate the man. "You talking back to me you little sun-fag!?" he yelled. Asuna realized that the man was there to fight and she looked to see if she could see Roland or something. Things were getting bad by the second here. The old man by the table stood up now and quickly came up to the aggressive young man.

"There's no need to fight here." he said, "We only want to celebrate the eclipse, we don't want to be a..."

"Eat shit!" the young man yelled now, the old man's attempts to calm him only further aggravating him. The old man didn't have any hope of avoiding the young man as he leaned back and slammed his elbow straight into the old man's face, making a cracking sound echo through the room and the old man fall to the ground limply.

Asuna detonated in that very second. Out of nowhere an anger she did not know she possessed had lit inside her. That bastard... that utter bastard! Before any of the other vespertatians – who had gotten out of their seats with furious looks on their faces – could react Asuna was already there. It was in a blur that she appeared, grabbing the man's arm as he was pulling back his elbow. He turned to look at Asuna, about to snarl something ,but when he met her eyes he was silenced. In Asuna's eyes rage was glowing, rage as pure and undiluted as could be.

"You..." Asuna hissed, her anger burning white-hot inside her. She didn't know what to do, only that she was angrier than ever before. She had to get it out somehow, somehow she had to release her anger. "Scumbag!" With that, her fist smashed into his face. Another crash, this one much louder, resounded through the room as Asuna sent the man flying backwards. He crashed into the wall ten feet away, stumbling to the ground as Asuna seethed, her breath coming through clenched teeth. The man wasn't done though, he got to his feet quickly. Blood was streaming down his face and fury was glowering in his eyes now.

"You bitch!" he snarled, pulling out a dagger from inside his clothes. Asuna didn't even think though, she was still furious and she launched herself at the man, fully intent on killing him. In her mind there suddenly was nothing but hate, hate against that man.

She was torn out of her berserk fury, however, when a meaty hand grabbed her arm from behind, restraining her with a rough twist. The man was disarmed as well, one of the half-giant bouncers, Skellig, appearing behind him and twisting the knife out of his hand. The giant's hand clenched around almost the entire lower arm of the man and the twist was rough enough that he crashed into the floor where Skellig pushed him down, holding his arm tightly fixed against his back.

Asuna wasn't done though, she still was in the throes of that sudden, inexplicable rage. It took Hrafnun – who was the one detaining her – all of his hereditary strength to pull the girl backwards. Roland came out of the kitchen just in time to see Asuna and the troublemaker both being detained by his bouncers. Seeing the man's bleeding face and the rage in Asuna's eyes his face turned a bright red colour and he roared for Hrafnun to take Asuna away from there. The man obliged and in the midst of the dawning chaos Asuna was dragged inside the kitchen and thrown into one of the storage rooms there. As she fell onto all fours Hrafnun slammed the door shut, locking it quickly.

Asuna didn't move from the position she had landed in at first. She only remained there, breathing harshly from the sudden exertion. Her eyes were wide now as she stared into the ground. Suddenly everything was a blur to her, only the vaguest of details remaining in her mind. What had she done? She remembered how the old man had been assaulted and sent tumbling to the ground but after that everything was suddenly so unclear.

She had attacked the man, that she remembered at least vaguely. But why? Why had she suddenly felt such hate, such anger? Asuna sunk down to a semi-sitting position. Her legs folded sideways and she sat down but her hands still kept her supported. One hand rose to her head and she pushed it against her forehead. What had she forgotten? They were vespertatians, her people.. but what had she forgotten? She had forgotten something, she was sure of it! Her mind started to work at full capacity as she tried to figure out what it was. What had she forgotten? When had she known it? She started to think back, trying to recall when she had known it.

For the first time in all these days her thoughts went back to before Negi had died, in her confused state her mind skimmed over that memory as one of many. She remembered how she had been running through the sewers, leading the group heading for the chamber where Asuna knew Negi would be. She remembered before that, how she had started down Nagi, Negi's father, and demanded an explanation. Explanation for what? She had remembered something back then, but why couldn't she remember it now?

Asuna's mind was swirling around now, trying vainly to grip at the reasons for why she had gone berserk. It was like she had become a demon wanting only death. _"Demons..." _Asuna suddenly twitched, as soon as her mind had brushed against the analogy the word seemed to start to pound inside her head.

It was at that point that the door opened. Asuna turned around and came face to face with a furious Roland. The man's face was bright red and his fists were clenched. Asuna should probably have been afraid but she was still in a daze. As Roland slammed the door shut he took a deep breath, calming down somewhat but still keeping his hand clenched around the handle.

"You..." Roland said now, glaring at her "You are the luckiest person alive right now." Asuna didn't answer, only looked at Roland, who continued after a second, "The watchmen were just here," he said, "apparently the man you just beat the snot out of is a well known troublemaker and supremacist. They were happy to write it off as his fault."

"Oh..." Asuna said, still dazed.

"Don't you "Oh" me!" Roland roared now, the room shook from his roar and as he slammed his fist into the wall, it shook from this too, "Do you know what you could have cost me there?! I could have lost my bar because of you assaulting my customers! I don't..." Roland, even though he was furious noticed how Asuna's eyes were glazed over and she didn't respond to his words at all. Reaching out, he snapped his fingers in front of Asuna's face. Yet, the young girl didn't even react at the heavy snap that resounded only a few inches from her face. She was still dazed enough that she could only try to grip faintly at whatever memory was still eluding her.

"Hey!"Asuna suddenly started. This time she was brought out of her daze as Roland screamed into her ear, only a few inches from it. His powerful voice made her come back to reality and she squealed. Her eyes were wide now as she met Roland's sour face. "Are you back now?" he asked with a sour look on his face.

"Y-y-yeah..." Asuna siad, her ear hurting like crazy now. Roland looked at her for a second before he sighed deeply.

"Look..." he said tiredly as he got to his feet, "Just get your ass upstairs and sleep. You're off-duty tonight."

"Okay." Asuna said, she still felt weak and remained sitting. Roland however got up and looked at her. He didn't look hostile, only exhausted, and he left the door with a heavy walk, closing the door behind him. A second later he opened it again, motioning for Asuna to get out of the storage room.

* * *

"So let me get this straight." the tall man said as he leaned back in his chair, massaging a temple. "Not only did you fail to apprehend the man even though I allocated enough men to you to comb the entire straits, but he was piggy-back riding one of the ships out of there?" The man's black hair was combed backwards and his short beard was meticulously trimmed. His deep green eyes, however, was narrowed in anger. On the other side of the large desk he was sitting at the officer in front of him nodded, seemingly doing his best to not shiver. They were the only two people inside the large office.

"We underestimated his skills with stealth." the officer said, standing at attention upon the red carpet in front of the large desk, a carpet that led all the way to the doors a few meters behind him. "My men were manning the scanners at all times and somehow he seemed to have slipped by them."

"Hitching a ride upon one of the very vessels looking for him?" the black-haired man drawled, his deep voice filled with sarcasm as his fingers drummed against the armrest of his chair.

"Y-yes sir." the officer admitted, "The scanner-crew failed to spot him, they thought it was a rock that fell down upon the ship."

"It never occurred to them to check?" the man behind the large mahogany desk asked mildly.

"N-no sir." now sweat was starting to show upon the officer's brow. The black-haired man sighed deeply now, putting his hands over his face.

"Congratulations captain." he said as he straightened in chair, clasping his hands together in front of him "Your incompetence has just ensured that the new provinces will burn. With the terrorists getting their figurehead back they'll only grow stronger and any progress we've done with pacifying them is gone!" the last words were spoked with a snarl and the man slammed one palm into the desk. On the desk several items jumped ever so slightly into the air, this including a small nameplate that read "Executor-in-chief Maxwell Sterning" The officer flinched at this but didn't say anything. After another second the black-haired man, Maxwell Sterning, sighed again before he spun the chair around and looked out through the large window behind him. The city was spread out below the window and he let his eyes rest on the sights for a while.

"You can report to the customs division in Tantalus," he said after a moment, spinning around again to look at the man, "That is your workplace from now on. Get out of my office and leave your stripes on the desk, second lieutenant." the former captain tensed now, his face betraying his shock. "Dismissed." the black-haired man said, making the man salute, even though he was trembling, and reach for the shoulder where the stripes marking him as a captain sat. He tore them off without a word and put them on the desk, with another salute he turned around and left the office, his discipline only partially concealing how devastated he was.

Maxwell looked at the door as it closed. It was a regrettable loss, that man had been both devoted and ingenuous, one who had performed well up until now. Yet what just had happened didn't give him any other options. With the Vespertatian princess hiding in Hellas territory his hands were tied, as much as the eighty-first division wanted to be able to say otherwise the Hellas lands were lands they did not control. The Hellas Imperial Secret Police were masters of counter-espionage and if he thought he could move the kind of personnel needed to apprehend that man into Hellas he'd be crazy

Still, Maxwell hadn't made it into the eighty-first division by giving up easily, he got out of his chair and walked over to a large map by one of the walls. The princess wouldn't stay in Hellas, she'd want to cross over into her homeland. Maxwell's eyes travelled over the map and came to rest on the foothills of the Pyrith mountains, the mountain range that lay along the area where the Vespertatian peninsula merged with the mainland. The borders of Hellas ended well before those mountains and they had men posted along those borders.

Maxwell begun to mark out key positions at the map, checking what forces were in the area and whether they could be taken to the borders quickly enough. After about thirty minutes he was done. Five companies could be allocated to the areas along that border. With the rapid response mages he could order out from the main base in Ostia this situation could be salvaged yet. A slow smile spread over his lips as he slowly stroked his beard.

"You won't get to those mountains princess." he muttered to himself, "Your little exodus ends right there." Already this whole debacle had been way too bloody, Maxwell wouldn't allow any more of his people's blood to be spilled. Checking the map one last time he mentally called for his officers. This plan was as good as it would get, time to put it into motion.

* * *

When Asuna woke up she did so slowly, almost reluctantly. For the first time in days she felt well-rested. The girl sat up, thinking about the dream she had had. It had been such a strange dream. She had been a little child, sitting on a large balcony and looked out across a giant field. There had been large bleachers surrounding the field, whereupon armed people had been fighting. It hadn't been any battle though, the mood had been too high. More like a... tournament? Yeah, that was probably it.

Still, what she had remembered most clearly was how one of the combatants had entered the field, cheers rising as he did so. The man, a young man with red hair and a golden circlet fastened around his head, had walked over to the podium where Asuna and some other people had been sitting, she couldn't remember who they had been. The young man had held up a piece of cloth towards the podium and thrown it up there. The piece had landed in Asuna's knee and the young man had bowed .

"_Will you make me the honour your highness?"_ the man had asked, his eyes, green, had sparkled with amusement, _"Will you let me become your champion here?" _Asuna could hear gasps from all around her as the man had said that. Yet, she had only smiled and walked up to the end of the podium. Kissing the cloth she had thrown it down to him again and with a sunny smile she had waved her hand at the man. The man had grinned back to her and taken the piece of cloth, tying it around his arm before he drew his long sword and turned to walk towards the fights that took place on that field.

It was then that she had awoken. For the first time in a long time she had actually felt well rested. She hadn't been without sadness, but it has been a slight melancholy, rather than the grief she was used to. She sat up in the bed now, wondering who that young man had been. It was almost... it was almost like she could remember a name.

A knock on the door made her start slightly. She was wearing a large, baggy t-shirt that did well enough to cover up her modesty but she still got unnerved when Roland burst into the room. He was wearing seemingly new clothes, they weren't covered in food-stains, but they looked just the same as the ones he had used before, right down to the towel he was wiping his hands on.

"You're up." he said gruffly as a greeting, "We've got a lot to do, get up and take a shower, there's some food left over from yesterday. I need help in the garbage room in thirty minutes." Asuna was surprised now, was there no end to what this guy would be demanding of her? However when she remembered yesterday and how she had beaten the daylights of that man she held her tongue, something told her it was best to do so. She got out of the bed as Roland left and closed the door. Taking a look to look at Takahata-sensei's unconscious body she took a deep breath, trying to shake herself awake as she made her way into the shower to clean up.

Twenty minutes later she had managed to take a quick shower and scarfed down some food. She was grateful for all the training she had had when she ran her newspaper deliveries, it made it much easier to move quickly right now. There Roland was standing amongst a series of large trash containers. It turned out that today was the day the trash-collectors came and Roland had to get it out in time or he'd be saddled with the trash until the nest time they'd come.

Asuna was slightly awed by all the trash this place racked up, it took her and Roland over an hour to tie the bags together and get it all outside In the sudden and intensive work she was directly thrown into Asuna eventually forgot her dream, there was too much occupying her attention for her to be able to remember it. Instead she had her mind filled with trash-bags filled with all kinds of things, from the heavy ones filled with glass to the lighter ones filled with cardboard. When they finally were done Asuna's back hurt and she put her hands on it and bent backwards, trying to get rid of it.

"I think that was about everything for now." Roland said with a deep breath as he closed the door outside. "We can take a two hour break before we start with the evening preparations." Asuna didn't even say anything however, this morning she had been left with too much to think about. The found herself in the kitchen and staring into the fridge after any more of the balwa juice she'd been drinking yesterday. She didn't find any of it though but what he did find was a large carton with something written on it.

She didn't really know what it said but the colour of the contents, made evident by the drawing on the side of the carton, was unmistakeable. She took the carton and sniffed at the opening, yeah that was the same smell too, this had to be that rose hip thing she had drank when she first got here. She took it and managed to procure a small bowl from one of the lockers into which she poured the thing. When the thick liquid slowly poured out into the bowl she really wondered what the heck this was. It was brown-orange and viscous, it looked like crap, yet the memory of the pleasant taste made her keep going.

She managed to find a microwave and heated the soup there, not even she could fail at that, and she was just about to dig in when Roland came into the kitchen.

"Oh." he said as he saw how Asuna had prepared a bowl of the soup and was about to dig in. "You liked it that much?"

"Yeah I heated some." Asuna said, pointing at it with the spoon, "Is it okay?" Roland nodded.

"It's fine with me." Roland said as he grabbed a large bottle from the fridge, "If you work you eat."

"Thanks." Asuna said and took the first spoonful of it. It didn't really taste like she remembered it, it was a little more bitter. Still, she liked it anyway. Now, in the tense silence that had occurred, Roland took a seat in front of her. His face spoke business, real business.

"I put this off because you seemed to confused at first." he said, "But it's time for you to get a few things straight." Asuna looked up at him now and when she saw his stern face she felt like she got a lump in the throat. She put down the spoon and looked at the man.

"What?" She asked.

"I know who you are." Roland said, making Asuna freeze at first. After a second she relaxed though, wasn't that a good thing? "And I'm helping you here against better judgement, because I believe it's the right thing to do." Roland said, "But know this: your presence here puts my bar, everything I've worked hard to build up for a decade now, into huge risks. If I'm found out I'll be charged with aiding terrorist groups, as will the girls and Grayson. My bar will be shut down and I'll be sent to prison to rot. Knowing that, your little stunt yesterday was stupid beyond beliefs, you called the damned watchmen down upon this place!" Roland put his hands down on the table and continued. "In the choice between my bar and you, I'll take my bar any day of the week, as much as I am ashamed over what happens in Vespertatia, you're not worth everything I have."

"What's happening in Vespertatia?" Asuna answered Roland now, looking at him with tired eyes. "Where is Vespertatia, what is Vespertatia?" Something started to glow in Asuna's eyes now, it was exhaustion and despair. "Why does these men want me dead," She continued, "why am I in this weird-ass fairytale land? Why is my whole life suddenly a lie? Why do I snap for no reason and lose all control? Who am I!? Asuna got off her seat now and stared at Roland. "I don't want to be any trouble to you either but I'm here, right in the middle of who-knows-where, playing a god damn bar maid because otherwise my teacher and the only parent figure I've ever had will be thrown unconscious into the streets. I find out, out of nowhere, that everything I know is a lie and the person I thought I've been never was anything but a lie!. I'm hunted by people who want me dead for things I have no memory about and right before they are about to kill Takahata-sensei Some weird dude in a cape shows up and drags me through shadows to this place where I'm just sitting, thinking that I must have gone crazy!" Asuna was actually yelling now, standing up as she spilled all her worries for Roland. It was almost like vomiting, it came rushing out of here without any way for her to stop it.

"If I'm a bother..." Asuna yelled now, sobbing as she yelled at Roland, "It's because I don't know anything about any of this! What is all this?! Why is this happening to me?! Why?!" Asuna was on the verge of quitting. Having managed to live this last day in a kind of daze, focusing on other things, she had managed to stay calm. But now, when Roland confronted her with it, it all came crashing down around her. She was desperate, so desperate to find release of some kind, that she trembled.

"I..." A tired voice said in the doorway. "I think I can answer that." Asuna twirled around, her heart suddenly caught in her chest, and came face to face with Takahata-sensei. He was standing in the doorway, wearing a loose, shapeless robe that Roland had left by his bedside. His hair was unruly and his eyes were tired, yet he stood up, Grayson being right behind him.

"Takahata-sensei!" Takamichi didn't have any time to say anything more before Asuna had already collided with him, throwing herself into his arms with the tears running down her face "Takahata-sensei..." Asuna sniffed, unable to say anything more due to the relief that flooded her. The tears kept coming but these were tears of happiness. With Takahata-sensei awake everything would be all right, she knew that.

* * *

The beast was on the prowl. In the deep bowels below the city, in the sewer systems forgotten centuries ago, it waited. The reek here was savage, yet its nose could feel the scents around it perfectly. It saw, the utter darkness did not matter to its glowing eyes as they could easily see in the pitch-black abyss, the faint light emitted by them being all the beast needed.

The beast searched. It was prowling through the sewers, looking for the thing is sought. Its animalistic mind did not make mental maps of the sewers or counted the steps like humans would have, but it knew where it was. It knew what it sought for.

The beast knew. Instincts, knowledge, sixth sense, in the end it all became one to the monstrous being lurking below the city. Even though it had fled into the sewers at first, escaping the sounds and chaos of the city above, it knew.

The beast ran. It found its way through the sewers as well as if it had always lived here and with immense speed it travelled, leaving only whispers and terrified gnats in its wake. Even with the sole heartbeat of the monster's presence the small animals living here knew that it was something to be feared.

The beast hunted. What it searched for was here, what it looked for, would be here. Its primal mind did not understand how it had come to want it, nor would it have cared if it did. There was only the hunt, and the beast, the emperor amongst hunters, did what it did best, it hunted.

* * *

"That's the story according to Kagetarou at least." Roland finished after having finished the short recap of what the shadow-wielder had told him. "And let me say that I know enough about who she is." Roland begun as Asuna had been calmed enough that she could let go of Takamichi and the man having sat down by the table. Asuna was at Takamichi's side now, fuzzing over her teacher and almost having started to spoon-feed him with the soup she had warmed to herself. Takamichi had demonstratively relived her of the spoon and started to eat with his own strength. Now he was looking up at Roland and listened to the man. "Also, I'm on your side as long as you don't pull my bar into all this." Takamichi nodded.

"We won't." Takamichi said, "I swear." He spoke the words with certainty before he caught himself. After what had happened at the gate, even after all his oaths, Takamichi didn't feel that sure that his oaths were worth anything. He pushed it down however, not planning to wallow in self-pity now of all times. They were safe for now it seemed, the Makoro harbour district was a good place to hide and this "Kagetarou" man's plan seemed solid. Indeed, it looked even more solid than anything he had managed to achieve this far.

"I hope our continued presence won't be a bother." Takamichi said to Roland. "If needed, I can pay you."

"No worries." Roland said, "It's not like I could throw you out of here, could I?" Asuna couldn't help herself now and snorted, thinking back on the last day and how this guy had more or less run her ragged. Takamichi and Roland both glanced at her now and Roland shrugged.

"It's up to you to believe me princess." he said, "But tell me, have you been brooding any recently?" Asuna blinked now, getting caught off guard by what the man said. "It's true, I did need the help and I hate freeloaders, but the way you looked the day before yesterday positively screamed out that you needed something else to focus on. Anyhow, do what you want, mope or shift focus, I think the latter will be of more aid for you. And you," Roland turned back to Takamichi. "Sorry but I think it's for the best if you keep hiding upstairs. I've got four girls who use to work here and two of them would tell half the city about you being here before we knew what has happened.

"I see." Takamichi said, "Yes, that's for the best. Thank you yet again. But Asuna-kun..." Asuna turned to look at the man and Takamichi looked at her with a reluctant look on his face "Your questions... It is time I tell you everything, do you want to hear it all now?"

Asuna had suddenly frozen, the girl did want to know what it all meant, what all the strange dreams were about, why she felt like she should be remembering things she didn't. But for some reason her body just didn't obey and some strange, nameless fear made its way into her. Deeper than her memories, her subconscious did all it could to try to stop her.

But in the end, she managed to nod. Something told her she shouldn't do it but she had to know. She had to know who she was. As Takamichi got of the chair and started to walk towards the small bedroom, motioning for her to follow him, Asuna felt how a strange, ominous feeling settled in her, almost as if she was walking to her execution.

* * *

When Takamichi and Asuna got into the room Asuna closed the door behind her, guessing that Takahata-sensei would want privacy for this. Takamichi sat down by the bed and leaned forwards, clasping his hands together. When Asuna sat down by the bedside he looked up at her.

"First of all..." Takamichi begun now, suddenly seeming so old, so tired, "I'm sorry Asuna-kun." Asuna was dumbstruck by the look of sorrow in his eyes. "I hoped so badly that you could have a better life than this," Takamichi told her, "I hoped that we could have done more for you, not the least when Negi showed up. But with everything that's happened... I'm sorry."

Takamichi didn't wait for an answer now, instead he reached into his clothes and took out a small pocket calendar. He flipped it through with practised ease until he found the page he had been looking for. He had the calendar out to Asuna, who took it from him. It was some sort of map, though it certainly wasn't a map of earth. The continents looked way different and she didn't recognize it at all.

"Look there." he said, pointing at a part of the map. Asuna followed his finger and her eyes came to rest upon a peninsula by one of the continents' coastline. It was a pretty big peninsula, from what she could see it seemed to be about twice as big as the Korean Peninsula. Also, this peninsula was adorned with the name "Vespertatia". "That's your homeland." Takamichi said, "The kingdom of Vespertatia. If you look where the mainland and the peninsula connect you'll see the name "Ostia". That's your city of birth."

"Okay," Asuna said, taking in these facts. Ostia... she knew that name, now that he mentioned it Asuna felt the memories pick away at the back of her head, present but undefined. "Keep going."

"Vespertatia was founded about five thousand years ago by a mythical figure most only know as queen Vesper." Takamichi told her "She was a woman who forged scattered tribes and clans into one nation and who placed its capitol on the floating isles that exists there. There's very little known about her, more myths than anything else. The popular stories is that she fell in love with the sun and carried his children. This lineage of children was named the house of Entheofushia, your family line."

"It was from her that one of the great religions in this world came, Sol Transitus, meaning the transiting sun. It's the state religion of Vespertatia and has spread to many other nations, most notably to the Hellas empire, the great nation you see there to the north-west." Asuna looked at the map and saw a giant nation, reaching from one coast of the continent to another. "Whatever the truth is about the queen," Takamichi continued, "it's true that your family has always had strange powers. Your demon summoning for example, it was a power granted to you by your heritage..."

"What about my family?" Asuna asked now, Takamichi stopping.

"King Takuro the fifth." Takamichi begun now, Asuna suddenly feeling how she shook. If the word Ostia had made her feel like she was remembering things that was nothing compared to how she felt now. "Queen Yoshiko, princess Arika and prince Sato." Takamichi finished, "That was the name of your family members." Asuna only nodded, she knew those names, she _knew _them! "I can't tell you anything more about them though, I didn't know anything about them when they were alive.

"_Takuro... Yoshiko... Arika... Sato" _Asuna looked up at Takamichi, "th...they're dead?" She asked quietly. Takamichi nodded.

"About fifteen years ago now a terrible war broke out in the magic world," he told her. "it had been brewing for a long time but it suddenly detonated, like a bomb, and before anyone knew what had happened a world war was a fact. Vespertatia stayed neutral for a long time, trying to solve the situation peacefully. At many times it seemed as if they had succeeded but then the war exploded against somewhere else."

"There was someone goading the war on and eventually King Takuro requested aid in uncovering what was going on. That aid consisted of me and the Ala Rubra, a group of heroes consisting of, amongst others, Negi's father Nagi, my master Gateau, Konoka's father Eishun and Albiero Imma if you remember him from Mahora."

"We searched the world for a long time but then, out of nowhere, Megalomesembria attacked Vespertatia, claiming that the Vespertatians had harassed their borders for a long time. In only two weeks Vespertatia fell and when the invaders attacked Ostia they used some kind of strange devices meant to make magic go haywire, so called wild magic generators. They hoped to neutralize the powers of the royal family... but instead the result was chaos. Ostia was a magnificent city, situated upon several large isles floating in mid-air over a sea of mists, but now only pieces of the city remains. I don't know the details but what I do know is that those things made your gifts go crazy, a storm of demons appeared, tearing the city and all its inhabitants apart."

Asuna couldn't breathe, as Takamichi told her about the night she had lost her family the memories suddenly returned to her. They came in force, playing up in front of her, mercilessly and brutally she remembered. Asuna's head started to feel like it was about to explode and she started to breathe faster, her eyes became wide and suddenly the barrage of memories was like a breeze as the final shockwave of memories came. It hurt! Her head felt like it would split and Asuna came to grab it, gasping in pain.

"Asuna-kun?" Takamichi asked now, looking up at her with a concerned look on his face when he saw her his eyes widened in fear and he shot up from his seat. Out of nowhere a scream ripped its was through Asuna's throat, a choked, tormented scream during which the girl tried to stand up but her legs gave away, sending her crashing into the floor "Asuna-kun!" Takamichi yelled, getting up and catching her. He was still weak though and they both ended up on the floor, Takamichi holding Asuna and the girl holding her head and wailing.

"Ma..." the girl sniffled, crying desperately, "Mama... papa! Sato-niisan... Arika-neesan!" The girl said the names over and over, crying out the names of her family with a voice torn by pain and suffering. Takamichi realized that she was remembering... by the gods... she was remembering the fall of the Twilight Castle, how everything had died around her! Asuna's desperate crying continued and Takamichi found himself helpless yet again as the girl remembered the traumatic things her life had held. Wrapping his arms around her he held her tightly, desperate to comfort her in whatever way he could.

Asuna shook as the sobs wracked her body. Memories were flooding forth, memories of how her father had thrown her up in the air, spinning her around as she laughed, how her mother had sung a lullaby for her, how her brother had during a tournament ignored all the noble ladies and instead asked to be her champion, how her sister had once gently slapped her in the head when she had tried on some of Arika's make-up, only to show her little sister how to apply it properly afterwards. That wasn't what made her cry though, what tore at her heart, what made the despair flood her, was the memories of how they had all died around her.

Arika had died first, her sister had been torn apart by the magic chaos that raged all around her, screaming as she tried to stay together even as her body had become ash and fire. Next Sato died, her brother had been the first victim of the sudden onslaught of demons and was killed as he danced and weaved in around and between them, trying to stem the sudden tide with his sword. She remembered how her father had screamed in despair at the sight and how the remaining royal guards had thrown themselves at the hordes in an attempt to hold them back. It was first then that her mother had seen her hovering in the middle of the bright pillar the demons were coming from and she had charged towards her sole surviving child, her husband following her.

The queen and king had waded through the hordes and in desperation pushed themselves towards her. Even when her father got one arm torn off he had only continued onwards, protecting his wife no matter what even as he screamed in pain. In the end he had died too, throwing himself at the demons to give his wife a chance to get past. Her mother had reached her, she had grabbed Asuna's head and stared into her eyes, trying to use her powers of mind-control to shut her daughter's summoning powers down and try to stop the demons from flooding the city. Asuna remembered how she had been in near panic but how her mother's presence had given her a tiny morsel of lucidity.

She had begged for her mama to stop the terrible pain but then her mother's eyes had suddenly glazed over and her hands had fallen from Asuna's cheeks. Her mama had collapsed forwards, her head landing at Asuna's feet and the giant demon claw buried in her back filling Asuna's line of sight.

Asuna wailed, she cried like a baby, uncontrollably and in despair she gave voice to her anguish, anguish she had not even known of until this. Her memories only continued, she remembered how the demons had swarmed around her, howling and shrieking but not even touching her. She had shut her eyes and held her hands over her ears, kneeling at her mother's corpse as she begged for it all to end, that it was just a bad dream. It was then that he had appeared, a towering presence that had been talking to her from the other side of the gate.

Its soft voice had made her stop crying, even with all the pain and terror inside her she hadn't even blinked as the presence addressed her, it's soft words promising release from what had happened, that it would take away that which had made her family die, and she had accepted it, feeling how her powers were ripped away, something anathema to all magic left in its place.

The memories continued, how she had been discovered by blue-clothed soldiers that had taken her and locked her away, doing tests and experiments on her from what seemed to have been an eternity. Then the tower, the great tower that had eaten away at her mind as she had been chained to the top of it, used as a weapon by the blue-clothed men. The pain didn't stop, Asuna was left shivering, reliving her entire painful life in the span of moments, over and over again.

Takamichi held onto Asuna as hard as he could, gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes hut as he held her. Why could not this girl ever get a break? Was there no end to what fate was going to dump on her? Everything fell apart for her and now she had to face the horrors inflicted upon her by Malfeas, the vilest thing to ever have existed. Takamichi almost felt like he'd start to cry from the helplessness. He stayed strong though, this wasn't his troubles, it was Asuna's.

Speaking of Asuna, Takamichi suddenly realized the girl wasn't shivering any more. She was lying still in his arms, breathing evenly and calmly. She wasn't unconscious, she breathed too deeply for that and Takamichi could feel how she was moving slightly.

"You can let go of me now Takamichi." Asuna said after a while. Takamichi froze upon hearing her words and as his arms slowly unclasped from her he was more terrified than he had been in a long time. Asuna slowly sat up and adjusted her clothes, which had gotten wrinkled. When she turned to look at him Takamichi felt like he died inside, meeting the cold, emotionless eyes of the girl who had never shown a hint of emotions during the months she had travelled with the Crimson Wing back during the war.

"I remember now." she said, her voice bereft of anything resembling emotions. "You don't have to tell me anything more." with that, the girl got off her feet and walked out of the room, leaving Takamichi trembling on the floor. He stared at the closing door and as it shut close he closed his eyes and clenched his fists as his head slowly fell downwards. It was first now that he could cry, a silent tear making its way down his grizzled face.

* * *

"That bitch!" the sharp-faced man hissed as the healer ran his hands over his face, mending the last of the wounds the man had gotten last night. His teeth were clenched and his face was pretty much all tensed up, causing more pain than the actual healing would. However the healer had given up trying to make the man stop tensing up a long time ago. The walls of the small room was covered in spread-sheets detailing different things beloning to the profession and the small window at the end of the room pointed out towards the backyard.

"That cock-sucking bitch!"the man kept going, he had been snarling for over an hour, ever since he had woken up from the punch he had gotten last night. By the door to the small clinic where they were sitting another man stood, this one a blonde, grey eyed man with several small scars in the face stood, currently talking on his cellphone. Yet another man, this one a large and burly figure with bald head, stood outside.

"You on too, great." the blonde man said, his voice more a hoarse cough than anything else. Closing the phone he looked at the other man just in time to see him get up from the chair and walk towards him, putting his jacket on. "I've called all the guys." he said as his friend passed him by, "They're all on." The three people started walking down the street.

"Good." the man said as he walked out of the clinic, "Tonight we'll fix them, for good!" he snarled again now, seemingly his normal voice was snarling, "I'm not letting any sun-fucker or their little fag friends think they can walk on Mega's streets untouched!" the blonde man and the bald one were both nodding now, sneering as they looked at the snarling man.

"What about Roland?" the blonde asked after while.

"What about him?" the snarling man asked, turning around and walking backwards as he looked at his companion, "To the hells with him!" he hissed, "I'll tear that shithead's fat face off! Right off!" he yelled as he leapt aboard a hoverbus that had stopped by the end of the walkway. As he got aboard, wildly swearing and gesturing, several of the people already on the bus looked in his direction. One woman especially wrapped her arm around the small boy in the seat beside her, hugging him closer.

"What are you looking at?!" the man snarled loudly, making the others look away. "What?!" he kept going, passing the driver by without paying anything. "You got a problem!? It's shits like you that's the reason Mega's so fucked up! Those sun-fuckers think they can walk our streets, in our home, and half of you are helping them!" He walked up to one of the people sitting in the seats, an old lady who clenched her bag and pretended that the small group of supremacists weren't there.

"What?" the man asked, leaning in towards the woman, "you got a problem hag?" he wasn't snarling any more, speaking slightly lower but he was still speaking loudly and directly into her ear. "You got a problem with that there's people trying to save Mega from the traitors who'd rather have sun-fuckers and freaks walking our streets instead of sending them packing to the shitholes where they belong?!" now he snarled the last words, making the small woman start in pain at his loud voice.

"Actually..." a deep voice said now and the snarling man looked up to see a middle-aged, bespectacled man with the robes of an academy professor stand a two metres away from him. The man calmly looked at them as he supported himself with one hand against a pole. "I think you should stop harassing the lady, she hasn't done you anything." the man said, facing down the three thugs with a steady look in his eyes.

"You talking to me?" the snarling man asked, rising to walk towards the man. "You got a problem with me, _prof?_" the man uttered the titles as if it was something disgusting.

"I have no issues with the core philosophy you ascribe to." the professor said calmly, "However..." he was cut off by a derisive laugh as the thugs begun to laugh, first only the snarling man but his two toadies immediately started laughing too.

"You haven't got _issues _with your _philosophy_?" the snarling man sneered with a taunting tone, "What? You forgot how to speak like a human while fucking your students?"

"...all you are achieving at the moment is turning people against you. There's no need to harass anyone here, just stand back and ride the bus."

"Fuck you and fuck your ideas!" the snarling man spat into the professor's face. "You're fine with being a little pussy but not me you senile shit. I got some pride in my nation, what do you got."

"Well for one thing I do not use insults that originated in mundus vetes." the professor softly pointed out. "Fuck is originally an iconic word in vetes english." For a second the bus fell silent now, every single of the present passengers realising how badly the snarling man had been taken down both one and twelve pegs by the professor.

"You calling me a vetes!" the snarling man roared now and suddenly the professor was on the ground, his glasses cracked and blood streaming from his nose. The snarling man was upon him in a second and slammed his fist into the prone man, furious. Now the bus-driver acted too though, he sharply stopped the bus, making the snarling man fly off the professor. Now the people on the bus was getting up and the blonde man grabbed hold of his boss and pulled him up.

"Let's get out of here." he yelled and in the chaos that had been created the three supremacists leaped off the bus and vanished amongst the crowds. They quickly disappeared into one of the side streets, looking back to see if they were chased.


	7. Fire and shadow

**Chapter seven: Fire and shadow**

**

* * *

  
**

Roland wondered what exactly had happened when Takahata had told that girl the things she wanted to know. After about an hour the girl had come down from their room and immediately went back to work, this time with almost mechanical motions. Indeed, the way she moved now was almost like that of a sleepwalker, she seemed to not really be there mentally.

Yet still, she listened to what he said and did as she was told, only she did it with an emotionless face and equally emotionless movements, which was the best way Roland could describe how she moved. There was no life in it, no passion, no feeling, nothing. Yet her eyes were worst of all. In the eyes that had been ravaged by conflicting and raging emotions there was now not one thing. Meeting her eyes was like staring into a hole in the world, seemingly nothing being inside there.

Roland had initially thought she was just rattled by something but after about twenty minutes he had gotten fed up with it. From hysteric to shocked to depressed to raging etc, this girl was getting on his nerves. As nice as she was overall her emotional issues frayed Roland's own nerves and after about half an hour he turned to look at her, throwing the rag over his shoulder and folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Okay what happened?" he asked, his eyes shooting lightning at Asuna. He couldn't take these kind of emotional dramas, couldn't the girl just suck it up? Asuna looked up at him, her hands stopping moving over the cutting board and putting down the knife they had been holding. Her empty eyes turned towards him and came to steadily look at him.

"Excuse me?" she asked tonelessly, her voice more like that of a soulless golem than a human. Roland was deeply unsettled by it but he kept going.

"You're acting like a golem." he said raising his hands to point a finger each at his eyes, "your eyes look like your soul took vacation, what happened?!" the second question came out louder than he intended but his nerves was frayed enough by this girl. Asuna looked at him for a few seconds before she turned to face him proper.

"I never knew what ignorance is bliss meant." she said, her voice still eerily calm and devoid of emotions. "I remember everything, everything that happened to me." Now Asuna looked down at her hand. "But at the same time..." she slowly ran her thumb over the other fingers "It feels like something broke inside me. It's like I forgot what things mean. "

Asuna's hand went to the side now and before Roland could do anything she put it right upon one of the sizzling hot plates next to her. Asuna calmly turned to face the plate. Her face betrayed not even the pain she had to feel, even as smoke and a sickening, bacon-like smell was starting to rise from it. Stunned by the turn of events, Roland was left staring at it for several seconds and was utterly unable to move.

It was first after about ten seconds that he could move, leaping towards her with a choked scream and pulling her hand away from the plate. It came off with a ripping sound as large parts of the flesh had molten, sticking to the plate as charred clumps. Asuna's hand was bright red and scalded by the heat, in some areas it was black where patches of skin had turned to coal.

"What the taint are you doing?!" Roland yelled as he pulled her hand to the sink and turned the water on to cool the burned flesh. Asuna didn't seem to even acknowledge what had happened though, instead she only looked at the hand as if it was something strange, something she didn't quite get.

"Just trying something." She answered after a few seconds. "I feel the pain, but I don't know what to do with it, it's like it doesn't hold any meaning to me any more."

"What!?" Roland yelled, unable to understand how she could not know what to do, was she insane?!

"It's pain, it hurts," Asuna said, "And then? I don't know... it's gone, whatever I had it's gone... I don't feel anything inside me now." Roland looked at her in horror, yet again wondering what the hells Takamichi had done to her. Asuna tore away from Roland now, the girl walking towards the back door. "I'll go find Grayson." she said with an empty voice as she left the kitchen, holding her hand raised before her as she looked at it.

Roland was left staring at the doorway as she had exited, not knowing what he was going to think. It was first after a few seconds that he could even do something. He walked over to the freezer and opened it. Pulling out one of the bottles inside, he tore out the plug with his teeth and took a deep swig of the bottle after having spat the plug into his hand. His personal survival bottle came in handy yet again and Roland sighed as he put down the bottle. What had he gotten himself into?

It was then that the explosion rocked the entire kitchen. Roland started as several of the items hanging along the walls were sent tumbling to the ground in a loud din. Looking around, Roland could see a yellow light from outside the kitchen. With his heart pounding, the fat man got himself out of the kitchen as soon as he could and into the main room.

His eyes widened when he got outside though. The large windows to his bar had been shattered, all of them, and the floor between them and the bardesk was on fire, drenched in flaming liquids. Roland could see the nature of the fire easily, home-made firebombs! He dodged just in time to not be hit by another firebomb that crashed into the wall behind him where it ignited the bottles lined up on the shelf. An explosion rattled the room and Roland was only just able to throw up a magic barrier that could deflect the glass-shards that shot through the air, propelled by the detonating liquors.

Still, the barriers gave him no protection from the flames and Roland was drenched in the burning liquids. Wreathed in fire, Roland crawled over the deck and stumbled out through the broken window as fast as he could. The retired adventurer didn't lightly summon the mental presence to notice anything other than the fire surrounding him but he hadn't been a famous brawler for nothing. He gritted his teeth and threw himself to the ground, rolling around in the small patch of grass outside. Managing to get the fire somewhat under control, Roland was nevertheless caught off guard by the people that attacked him now.

Still burning and lying on the ground, Roland was swarmed with blows from clubs and iron pipes, getting the air knocked out of him and pain ripping through him as the mysterious assailants did their best to beat him to a pulp.

Roland went on his reflexes and kicked out to the side, managing to hit something. He couldn't feel what it was and the blows kept coming, meaning that he had to keep flailing Even after years of working as a barkeep Roland's infamous strength was still there, meaning that he could brush away most of the attackers with his large arms. Throwing himself to the side he managed to get up on his knees, enough to get some overview of what was happening. Even as he got up his arms were raised and ready, Roland was ready to fight, whomever these little pricks were they'd regret this!

What he saw was the entire street filled with people, all of them dressed in the same kind of clothes. Long, heavy boots and wide trousers together with tough jackets and, at the moment, blue scarves covering their faces. Supremacists! It didn't take a genius to realize what was happening. That asshole from yesterday and gone and gotten his friends and now they were here for revenge.

Roland was just about to get up and charge ahead when suddenly stars exploded in front of his face. It was as if a sharp crack resounded through his head as his brain was rattled and he stumbled. His limp body gave after and he crashed into the ground, everything seemingly going in slow motion for him. He fell down on his side, his head lolling as he landed on the grass without any ability to move. Everything swum in front of him but what he could clearly make out was that someone was standing towering above him, raising a large tool in his hands and preparing to slam it into his face He could hardly even direct his eyes to look at the man, utterly dazed by the hit.

Then, something came flying from nowhere and hit the man's face, knocking him away from Roland. This something landed in front of Roland with cat-like grace and before Roland, in his stunned state, could comprehend anything it had already attacked the crowd. As it got some distance to it Roland could see what it was. Had he not been so stunned he'd be shocked to realize that it was Asuna. The girl was attacking the men and in a display of agility, speed and strength unlike anything Roland had seen she actually drove them back.

Asuna moved with a grace and certainty Roland couldn't comprehend in his dazed state, all he could do was watch her. Asuna flipped over one of the men and grabbing hold of his hair, she used him to gain momentum to swing around and smash her knee into the man's neck. Flipping backwards, she landed with incredible grace and swept the legs of several of the supremacists away from under them.

Rolling over one of the falling men's backs, she got away from the people who tried to attack her now and grabbed hold of another man's arm, breaking it with her elbow. Roland could first now understand what was happening, the girl was fighting them. Had she been that good all this time? Roland was still dazed but he was coherent enough to be awed by what he saw.

A rapid backstep from Asuna brought her out of the way of wildly fired spell and even as one of the supremacists managed to catch her and lock his arms around her she only slammed her head backwards, into his face. As the man lost the grip Asuna dropped to a hunching position and gave him a spin-kick to the face. It was first now that Roland could see her eyes. He could only vaguely make them out but that was all he needed. They were burning. A terrible hellfire, unlike anything Roland had seen before, was glowing in them. He still couldn't see anything other than emptiness in them, yet this time it was the emptiness of the void, a raging emptiness out to devour everything.

As Asuna fought the supremacists with unprecedented speed and viciousness she was like an avatar of destruction, out to devour the chaos around her. The fighting had started to spread now. The burning bar, the large crowd of supremacists and the violent fighting that had broken out all made the people of the district come to see what was happening. When they saw the burning husk of Roland's Rathole there were few who were left unaffected. Soon the fighting covered the entire street, both supremacist sympathisers and anti-supremacists, as well as people merely angered by the burning of the bar, having entered the fray. Within only a few minutes the fighting covered the entire street and it kept spreading.

It was now that a few of the supremacists pulled out swords. Some of the masked men had been standing back but now they entered the fray, pulling out the swords that had been carried on their backs. They went for Asuna, moving much more confidently and quickly than their companions. Their blades glittered in the lights of the fires as they attacked the woman, weaving them in quick and sharp arcs against the young girl and forcing her to retreat. The glittering steel blades kept her from being able to counter-attack and even though the swordsmen didn't manage to really capitalize on their numeral advantage she was nevertheless unable to strike back.

Sidestepping, Asuna had her hair brushed by one of the men's swords as he cut off a few of the locks with a wild swing. One of the other men tried to attack her from the other direction now, cutting towards her waist. Yet all he was met with was Asuna leaping over the cut and kicking towards his face. Her foot did impact but it was only with the flat end of another man's sword as he stepped in front of his comrade and sent Asuna flying backwards with a mighty shove. Asuan crashed into the wall and was sent tumbling down from it. The men attacked.

Roland had been witnessing the entire battle, unable to really form any coherent thoughts in his swimming head but what he did know was that he had to do something. He did the only thing he could think of.

"M... mea... spatha." he groaned, forming the words only with great difficulty. Yet he didn't fail. A second later something crashed out of the windows on the second floor of the building and spun through the air. It landed in his hand, eagerly called by its owner his sword came to him. The large, heavy sword, nearly six feet long and a foot wide at the part where the blade and the handle met, was his sword. This was the sword he had used during his adventures and now, with all his uncertain strength, he pushed it towards Asuna, hoping to help her somehow. This was also all he could do before he finally fell unconscious.

The sword slid along the ground, reaching Asuna just as the supremacist swordsmen were upon her. Her hand clenched around the handle in an instant and when the first of the swordsmen attacked her she suddenly appeared behind them all, whirling the blade around as the swordsmen all crashed into the wall, grievously wounded.

Without any hesitation Asuna had struck them all, not even to kill, merely to incapacitate one way or another. Asuna dashed towards the other supremacists now, becoming a whirlwind of whistling steel as she started cutting through their ranks, without mercy or hesitation. Yet it was not to kill she struck, her movements were precisely and relentlessly aimed to merely give them minor wounds., But only one wound wasn't enough for her, what Asuna did was cutting off piece after piece from them. Her viciousness was terrible to behold as the supremacists she attacked were unable to get away from her.

Finally the men she had attacked all lay bleeding on the ground, numerous wounds covering them. In a gruesome scene they were all kneeling in around Asuna, the girl now towering above them with the giant blade held in one hand and raised towards the heavens. Her eyes were locked at the man in front of her, the man sitting limply on the ground and only staring up at her, fear glowing in his eyes and brightly as the emptiness glowed in Asuna's. There was no pity in Asuna's eyes, no remorse or hesitation. The sword she held now fell, making an arc down at the neck of the man, framed by the mass riot, burning bar and the chaotic din blanketing the area.

What happened now was not easily comprehended by any of the present people, rioter or not. A cascade of blinding lights flooded the area, drenching the entire street in a rain of flashes. Asuna's arm, which had been bringing the blade down towards the supremacist's neck, was stopped in it's tracks by someone grabbing hold of her and puling her backwards.

"Asuna!" Takamichi's voice yelled, nearly drowned by the din of what happened now. At the end of the street more people had appeared, however these were not rioters, instead they were large, towering figures in black armour who advanced with a steady marching, a thunderous staccato of heavy boots against the ground accompanying them.

"Watch-men! Watch-men! Watch-men!" A steady and loud chant accompanied the stomping as the formation of black-clothed watchmen all moved against the crowd, carrying large shields and heavy clubs which they slammed against said shields. The thundering beat echoed through the street and made the ground tremble.

Back at the burning inn Takamichi managed to throw Asuna backwards, away from the people she had nearly killed. The still weak man looked back at the crowds and saw that the rioters were starting to break up, the cascade of light having shaken them and the advancing anti-riot watchmen intimidating them enough that the riot seemed to be mostly dealt with already.

Yet, the arrival of the watchmen was the last thing Takamichi wanted right now and as he hurried over to Asuna fear pounded in his heart. "Asuna!" he yelled again, "We have to get away from here!" Asuna present with a sword in hand and several badly wounded supremacists would never escape undetected. If they didn't get out of here at once everything would be for naught.

He grabbed hold of her, trying to get her to her feet. Despite the events of today he had to get her out of here! Asuna looked up at him, blinking in seeming confusion, as if she had just been shaken awake, and Takamichi was forced to drag her to her feet.

His back burned as the still healing wounds screamed in protest but he paid it no mind, it was healed enough that it wouldn't start bleeding and that was all he needed. Yet still the fates seemed to conspire against them as Takamichi saw something in the corner of his eye above them. Looking up, he saw a watchman mounted on a flying lance who's eyes were fixed on them.

They were already tagged! The authorities would try to stop this riot by seizing the key persons and dispersing the crowds: To the watchmen the bloodied shapes lying all around Takamichi and Asuna couldn't have screamed "primary offender" any louder.

"_Forgive me."_ Takamichi thought as he gritted his teeth and managed to mould enough kanka that he could unleash a powerful attack against the man and knock him off the lance and down into the crowd. Sending another attack along the ground and making the people around the fallen watchman fly away in all directions he bought the watchman enough time to hopefully escape. Said thing was also what Takamichi and Asuna did now, hurrying away from the bar as they fled the authorities again.

* * *

"Repeat that again soldier!" Maxwell said has he stood up in his office chair, eyes wide and mouth open. "She's here?!" The man found himself asking, wondering if the telepathic message had been faulty.

"_Yes sir!" _the watchman said over the telepathic connection "_She's running through the Makoro district, fifth and Donovan, in the middle of the riot!"_ Maxwell was out of his chair in an instant. This was too good to be true! That man had only been a diversion! The princess was still here in the city!

"_All available agents!"_ he commanded mentally, sending out a general command to the agents of the eighty-first division placed around the city._ "Rendezvous at agent eight-five-three-two's coordinates and be ready to engage!" a resounding call of "yes sir"_ echoed through his head as the hundreds of different agents he had at his disposal acknowledged the command.

Within minutes the agents would be swarming the district, this time they wouldn't get away, he'd comb the entire district if he had to!

* * *

The beast stopped. Grinding to a halt, the beast ceased its dash through the sewers and looked backwards. Its eyes narrowed and its ears perked forwards. Shifting footing, the beast turned around to keep its head straight.

The beast sensed it. Its preternaturally sharp senses sensed something far away from it. Hearing and smell intermingled to create the sensation that ran though it now. Something had entered the sewers. The beast could feel the tremors in the earth, the crash of explosions and the smell of ozone.

The beast tensed. Lowering itself, the beast gathered power. Its predatory instincts were awoken by the distant events and now it sought blood. Its fangs were bared and a growl escaped it as the air begun to tremble around it.

The beast begun to run. Getting from still to too fast for human eyes to see, the monstrous being ran towards the source of the sounds. It was on the prowl, it was hunting. The emperor of predators had found something to hunt, and it hunted.

* * *

"Fifth squad, right!" the officer roared as the large group of black-robed men ran through the damp sewers, their boots smacking against the low water as a small group broke off from the main force and heading into a smaller side-tunnel.

The men were all moving at high speed, their eyes scanning the surrounding tunnels as their path was illuminated by powerful lights floating in the air around them. "Sixth squad, left!" the commander yelled, sending another squad into one of the side-tunnels.

The witch-lights threw an eerie glow over the sewers, the thick stream of dirty water that floated in the lowered-mid-section of the sewers becoming a glowing river of harsh light that danced as they ran.

Further ahead in the tunnels Takamichi looked back, seeing the light that came from far behind them and he gritted his teeth, fervently racking his brain as anxiety started to build in him. They were coming closer, damn it all to hell! He had healed up somewhat but the wounds on his back slowed him down enough that he was only a burden to Asuna now.

Should he stay behind and try to give her a chance to escape? He could hold them back for a good while, they only came from one direction and he was level-headed enough that he'd not overextend himself. Even with the wounded back he could still mould kanka.

But no, Asuna would never find her way in these sewers, Takamichi himself only remembered small bits of how this place looked. The agents would have complete maps of this place and they would be able to go around him. Frustration boiled in him as he realized that the idea to flee to the sewers had only landed them knee deep in shit both metaphorically and literally.

Asuna was running beside him, the girl still carrying the sword she had gotten from somewhere on the surface. Her eyes were still empty, almost too empty, and she ran with an almost detached visage. She didn't look back, nor did she seem to be even worried about the approaching agents.

Still, as it was Takamichi was worried enough for both of them. He couldn't see any way out, even as he thought as much as he could. Glancing back again he stared at the damned white light as it approached them. Soon they would be spotted.

"This way." He said, dashing into one of the larger side-tunnels. Asuna followed his lead without a word. At least this way they'd buy some time, the tunnel they had entered curved to the right ahead and they'd be away from the lights for a good while now.

Time... Takamichi almost laughed at the whole thing. What would minutes and seconds give them? They were in the middle of the Megalomesembric sewers, with the black ops on their heels. He was still weakened from his wounds and Asuna was not nearly as good as she'd need to be to stand a chance against these people, the elite of Megalomesembria's secret police. The only thing left to do for them as it was was to run. They were in deep trouble at the moment and the only thing to do was to run.

There was little to no chance left of escaping but there was always the slim chance of a miracle, he'd learned that from his time with Nagi if nothing else. He'd just have to do everything he could and hope that fate would show smile on him. Takamichi prayed that lady luck, who had always loved Nagi dearly, would show him the same graces. Judging from how luck had time and time again spat them in the fact he started to doubt it.

Any further thoughts from Takamichi was stopped when a deafening howl ripped its way through the sewers and made the ground tremble. From somewhere deep, deep in the sewers came a terrible scream of something hidden in the shadows, something monstrous. Takamichi actually lost his footing as the ground heaved under him, resonating with the scream. Trying to regain balance but failing and falling to his knees, Takamichi felt sudden fright awaken in him at the roar.

"What was that?" Asuna's voice said, the girl having drawn the sword and standing at the ready. Despite her unemotional state the instant tension was easily seen as the girl looked around. Takamichi racked his mind, trying to remember anything he had heard about monsters in these sewers. He thought that any eventual monsters living down here were purged regularly by the city but that kind of scream... He had heard dragons with less blood-curling screams and whatever it was, it was close, he realized this as another terrifying howl ripped its way through the sewers.

* * *

The beast howled. Shaking its giant head the beast screamed, trying in vain to find some way to get rid of the sudden pain that ripped through its primitive mind. Sensations, feelings, instincts, even memories were rushing past the beast's mind, it's primal consciousness unable to understand what was happening to it.

The beast trashed. Having lost all balance and control the beast flailed wildly, its massive head throwing from one side to another as it tried to get rid of the unfamiliar sensations that was trying to tear its simple mind apart. It did not understand neither what was happening nor what it was feeling, only that it hurt.

The beast remembered. A flood of images, sensations and memories flooded its mind, drenched its being to the very core. From nowhere it came, twisting his mind around and filling it with things it had never known before, or had it always known it? It did not know, all it knew was that as soon as it had been able to feel the scent of the prey further ahead its mind had exploded. The scent of one of the humans, a female, had made it trash and howl in pain as its mind buckled under the crushing pressure of the memories.

The beast stopped. As suddenly as it had started the pressure of the memories settled and the beast was left shivering and panting on the floor. It was exhausted, having nearly killed itself during the wild flailing. Its large tongue hung out of its mouth, saliva dripping from it.

The beast started. After a short while it could hear the sounds of struggling further ahead and these sounds made the beast leapt to its feet. Trembling but alert, the beast felt the smells and heard the sounds. In its mind the countless shards of memories that had shredded its awareness and thoughts swirled around, reassembling themselves and superimposing new memories, new feelings and new instincts into the beast.

The beast roared. This time it was not a scream of pain, but a roar of anger, of blood-thirst and the primal rage of the gods of all things predatory. As the beast started to run again it growled, the air around it shivering as it dashed forwards, terrible rage burning white-hot in it.

* * *

It was not without a certain sense of despair that Takamichi unleashed a kanka blast, sending one of the black-ops flying down into the sewer water and kicking up a large cascade of filthy water. The rain gave them a second and Takamichi leaped to the side, gritting his teeth to ignore the pain, as a projectile of fire came sizzling through the water and hit the wall only a few meters behind them.

They were standing in front of a large waterfall and the only way out of here was through the tunnel where the water came from, nearly thirty meters up. The enemy knew this and had already managed to seal the area off and more agents were arriving by the minute.

How would they be able to get out of this one? He was too wounded and Asuna – who was standing behind him with the sword in her hands at the ready – was too inexperienced to be able to defeat them. Takamichi managed to get enough breathing space to launch a swarm of attacks on the ceiling above the enemy, trying to collapse it.

He almost cursed when all that happened was that a barrier in front of the ceiling flared up, absorbing the blows. Of course, these agents were used to this. In response to Takamichi's attacks a chain of explosions ripped their way through the water, throwing up yet more cascades and forcing Takamichi to raise his hands to cover himself. Nearly choking at the stench that came from being drenched in the filth, he realized that now they would come, using the explosions as cover. They were done for.

Then, just as he opened his eyes to see one of the men already upon him, a black rain came from above, slicing through the filthy mists and the agents both. Another roar, like the one that had frozen Takamichi's blood, echoed through the sewers, yet now it was right above them. The deafening roar nearly burst their eardrums and Takamichi's hands flew to his ears.

As the agents flew backwards, having had their barriers ripped apart and their bodies pierced by the rain of razor sharp energies, Takamichi looked upwards only to feel like his heart stopped. High above them, having seemingly arrived from the tunnel where the water came from, a giant monster stood. A terrible beast, canid, with fangs and eyes glowing red and white in the faint light. Its large body seemed to almost be one with the shadows as Takamichi could see what looked like tails whipping around it. Only when seeing the monster Takamichi was struck with a deep, primal fear, as if he beheld the avatar of all man's fears of being hunted. He didn't even need to see the beast to feel it. Something terrible had arrived.

The monstrous canid threw itself down the large shaft, leaping from wall to wall and reaching the bottom in an instant. Its landing kicked up a storm of energy and water. Takamichi and Asuna were both thrown backwards, almost being hurled into the waterfall. Thankfully they collided with the wall beside the waterfall. Yet, both fell to their knees, getting first-row seats to the terrible spectacle that unfolded now.

The beast attacked. Moving with immense speed, the beast threw itself against the black-ops. Its fangs sunk into the first agent's throat before anyone could react, the beast tearing the entire head off effortlessly. Another roar tore its way through its throat as the blood sprayed over it.

The second roar was accompanied by a swarm of black, swirling orbs that flew straight towards a group of agents further down the tunnel. As it came near them they all exploded, the way they did so making Takamichi realize that the beast had controlled it. More water was thrown up, this time debris accompanied it as the walls of the sewer was being torn to shreds.

The beast spun around, becoming a blur as it attacked the remaining agents, tearing off one of the men's arms and most of his shoulder as he tried to dodge its vicious maw. The man's scream became the chorus to the swarm of missiles that two of the agents fired, trying to hit the beast.

Their efforts were in vain, the beast didn't even seem to notice the barrage impacting with it as two of its tails whipped forwards, wrapping themselves around the two men and slamming them into the wall with a loud crack, dozens of bones being broken in an instant. The sole remaining agent was eviscerated in a flurry of claws and fangs as the beast tore and slashed it into shreds.

The beast howled. A victorious, drawn-out howl, filled with power, made the sewers tremble as the roof collapsed further down the tunnel they had come from, sealing it to any further agents.

By the wall Takamichi and Asuna were staring at the scene, Takamichi awestruck by the sheer brutality and the raw power exhibited by the monster. Powers like that were easily AA-class, perhaps even higher. Were there still monsters like that living beneath this city? Asuna, on the other hand, had slowly been reaching for her sword. The girl was steadily reaching for the sword where it lay between her and Takamichi. Takamichi stopped her though, his hand landed on hers as soon as it clasped around the handle. .

"Don't..." he whispered as quietly as he could, his face still turned towards the beast.. "make... any... moves. Don't.... provoke... it..."

The beast turned against them now, its large head swinging around and focusing on them. Takamichi kept his breathing under control though, as much as the glowing red eyes terrified him he had to remain calm. Monsters this powerful usually had some kind of intelligence, at least to the level that they tended to leave those who were no threat alone. He just hoped they weren't inside its territory.

The beast started to walk towards them. Its heavy paws splashed as they landed in the water that was all over the place now, including both them and it. Takamichi realized that most of what was dripping off the beast was not water though, it was blood. Loud – almost rumbling – breathing could be heard echoing through the air, the beast's massive lungs pushing huge amounts of air through it's bloodied teeth. The panting created a loud wheezing sound that was clearly audible even over the sounds of the waterfall.

Forcing himself to remain calm, Takamichi slowly wrapped Asuna's hand in his. Now he could see the beast's irises and pupils, the red light in them having faded nearly completely and revealing two dark eyes, filled with predatory cunning.

It reached Asuna after what seemed like minutes, looking at the girl as it leaned in. Loud sniffs then came from it as it started to take in the scent of her. Then, after a while and to Takamichi's utter disbelief, the beast begun to lick her. Its large tongue came out and it happily begun to let it run over Asuna's face, like a dog greeting its owner. The beast which had only minutes ago killed several A-rank agents in a terribly brutal fashion was now happily licking Asuna's face

What was this?

* * *

"Please tell me you at least managed to neutralise the targets at first." Maxwell groaned, covering his eyes with his hand as the wet, wounded and terrified agents had given him their report. Most of the men had only managed to stutter something about "the beast" and what the few who were still lucid had told him didn't make things better.

They were currently standing right outside the firebombed bar that had been the hardest hit place during the riot, the entire placed burned down and the owner having been beaten nearly to death. Crime Scene Investigators and healers were crawling all over the place as the bartender was being loaded into a hovership to be taken to the hospital.

"_First the shadow user and now this?" _Maxwell felt like he wanted to scream in frustration. Twice now seemingly pure chance had made the prize slip out of his hands. He couldn't believe this... sitting down on a large piece of debris that had been created during the intensive riot he rubbed his eyes. It seemed as if fate was in the most playful mood possible, having whisked their prize into his hands and torn it away only seconds later.

Maxwell wondered how the hell he'd explain this to his superiors. Having done every single thing he could to apprehend the princess, his failing despite all this would not endear himself to the senate. The Hellas empire had already started to make a huge fuss about the appearance of the Garandia in Wales, not to mention the incident with the "terrorist" in Mahora.

Things seemed to whither away in his hands. What was he supposed to do to actually get something done? Become religious? Sacrifice a goat? Leave a tooth for the tooth fairy? Whatever he was going to do, he had to do it quickly, otherwise things were going to slip out of his hands again.

"Contact the city sewage department." he told the men, "I want a complete map of the sewers and I want sentinels posted at every exit from them beyond the city borders. Have ships on the standby in the area to move in if they come out of there. Contact the praetorians and request aid from slayer battalion If the beast shows up I want the slayers ready to strike. "

* * *

A/N: Wooo, update update update.


	8. What is the worth of emotions, of virtue

**Chapter 8: What is the worth of emotions, of virtue?**

* * *

Takamichi thanked the fates that at least some of his memories weren't blurred after all these years. He had remembered the secret route out of the sewers he and the crimson wing had used several years ago. After a seemingly endless time trudging through the sewers they had managed to reach the old, forgotten exit. The exit had almost collapsed totally and Takamichi had had to clear the way with his kanka several times. Yet, they had gotten out of there and after having left the area to avoid potential pursuers they had now gotten to a large patch of trees that gave them cover enough that Takamichi felt somewhat calmed. He and Asuna were currently sitting beneath an outcropping of rocks. Around them pine trees rose and the ground was covered by their needles. Takamichi sat silent by one of the trees and looked at Asuna. Or rather, she and the massive beast that lay next to her.

The beast was even more massive than he had thought in the sewers. It was about as high as him and approximately eight meters long. Looking distinctively canine or lupine, the massive monster had three furry tails and black, shaggy fur. Its eyes were deep red and shone with beastly instincts. It had to weigh at least something around six-hundred kilos, a lot of it being muscles. Yet now this massive beast was calmly lying next to Asuna, seemingly asleep.

Where had that thing come from? Takamichi just couldn't comprehend it, how could this massive beast know Asuna? Asuna herself had claimed that she had never seen the beast before, meaning it was not some old guardian animal of the royal family or some such. Nor was it a spellbound animal, it hadn't tried to bring Asuna somewhere. It seemed like it was some old pet that had found its way back to its long lost master. But how did this work with an animal like this?

And Asuna... the girl was sitting beside the giant beast, her face a blank mask of soulless emptiness. She sat with her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around the legs. Her clothes were dirty and grimy, as were her hair, and large parts of them were still damp. Yet she did not even seem to notice it, being as distant as she had been as a child. Beside her, leaning against the large rock, was the large sword she somehow had gotten hold of during the riot.

"Asuna-kun..." he begun after a short while, trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say. Asuna turned to look at him, her eyes attentive but still emotionally dead. Takamichi faltered when he saw those eyes, not knowing what to say. Was she the Asuna he knew? Was she the princess? In that terrible flood of memories, what had happened to Asuna? Said girl kept looking at him, calmly waiting for his question, and Takamichi found himself more and more unable to say anything. Yet in the end he pressed forth the first thing he could think of.

"How do you feel?" the asinine question almost made him groan in embarrassment but it was all he could think of. Asuna sat still for a few seconds, contemplating the question she didn't really understand. Takamichi remembered her as a little child and it was uncanny to see her like that now, when she was a teenage girl.

Why had he even asked her that? He knew what she'd say didn't he? She'd get a contemplative look on her face for a few seconds, then she would look straight at him and say...

"I don't know." Asuna said, the girl now having turned her head to look straight at him after a few seconds of contemplation. "How do you mean?" she continued. The emotionless Asuna often asked that, being that she hadn't known what it meant to feel she asked, wondering if they could explain what "feeling" meant. Takamichi felt like he was going to start crying soon. Had everything been undone, all the humanity and emotional life Asuna had gained in these years been undone now? Had she been thrown back into the pit of emptiness, this time to never come out?

The doubts and uncertainties Takamichi had struggled with only grew stronger. He felt like he was holding sand in his hands, no matter how he tried to stop it from pouring out it slipped through his fingers. And to make it even worse it seemed almost as if fate was compensating for his failures, first through Nekane, then Kagetarou, then this beast. Takamichi's thoughts went to the possibility that they might have some unknown benefactor again.

Chamo perhaps? With the ermine's connection to the first of the nether realms laid bare Takamichi admitted that there was a lot of things happening that humanity did not have any insight into. Was this their work, the demons of the first nether? Or was it something else? Someone else? Takamichi looked up at the sky, wondering who the players of this journey were.

However, even more vital was the question of where they'd go now. Takamichi racked his mind, trying to figure out where to go. The last time he had been here had been after that incident with the senator during the schismatic war, they had been forced to escape through the sewers and Gateau had shown them an old passage only he knew of. It came out to the north of the capitol, near the town of Aicun. Aicun was a nigh-lawless harbour town, a smuggler's haven where the corruption ran so deep that even if the town would be annihilated and rebuilt there would still be criminal activities going on there.

He didn't really want to bring Asuna there but did they have a choice? No not really, finding passage there would be their best bet, also between him and the beast Takamichi couldn't imagine any smugglers trying to make a move on Asuna. Yet... there were one thing they needed to have settled first.

"Asuna-kun." Takamichi said again, deciding it was time to see exactly how the beast beside Asuna viewed her. Asuna looked up at him and he motioned for her to rise. "We need to see whether you can control that animal." Asuna got to her feet and the beast glanced at her, keeping an eye on what his supposed mistress was doing.

Takamichi still couldn't really get his grip on the fact that this beast for some reason saw Asuna as its mistress.

"Try to command it." Takamichi said, that would be a good way to see if the beast was a trained one. If it was, then that would probably mean that someone had sent it. Asuna looked at the beast with a pondering look.

"Sit." she told the beast, her voice being as unemotional as always. The beast only looked at her though, not understanding what she said.

"You can't do it like that Asuna-kun." Takamichi said, shaking his head. "It doesn't understand words, all it understand are intentions. You need to really want him to do it and then show it with your body language."

"I understand." Asuna said, raising one hand. The beast immediately turned its attention to the hand and Asuna threw it down towards the ground now, pointing at the ground and speaking again. "Sit" There wasn't much more volume in her voice, but there was determination. Takamichi was rewarded with the sight of the beast immediately lying down with its head lowered.

"Great!" Takamichi snapped his fingers in relief. The animal was trained, that was good. He shuddered to think what could have happened if they had brought it into a settlement and it was still wild.

Keeping up the instructions, Takamichi told Asuna what he knew about handling animals. To his relief he discovered after about half an hour that the animal seemed to have formed a mental link with Asuna. The precision with which she seemed able to command the beast was too great and had been reached too fast to be anything natural. Similar in some ways to a pactio, the animal had in a way imprinted upon Asuna and now even their minds were connected. It was nothing unheard of, many beasts had that ability, but it threw a shadow over Takamichi's conclusion that it was trained. However he was still relieved, even though this fact threw more of a shadow over the beast's origins it made it easier to handle.

Now just to figure out how the heck to get out of Megalomesembria.

* * *

Inside a shady bar in the worse parts of the town of Aicun an old man was sitting by the bar-desk, sipping on a glass of cheap beer. The man was old, almost ancient, and he looked infirm and weak. Yet his hands were free from tremors, his voice clear and his eyes awake. Had anyone been able to see beyond time and space to Narita Airport only five days ago they would have seen how the old man had walked down one of the corridors of that airport, holding the hand of a a sickly little girl in his.

The bar was a run-down and decrepit place, the wood covering the floor and the walls were sticky and creaky, the tapestries on the wall were torn and several of the windows were boarded up. It was a disgusting place, one that the authorities would have closed down years ago had they not been as corrupt as the rest of the small town. With beer at a drachma per glass and with a two-litre pitcher available for three it still drew a crowd though. The cheap beer and the equally cheap prostitutes filling the place offered enough that the assorted riff-raff who sought a night of intoxication and willing women before they left the town with their ships the next day.

The old man had managed to finish his first beer, a cheap, bitter thing that must have come from some less-than-reputable brewery. Now he was making a gesture for the bartender to come and refill his glass. As the shady-looking bartender man came over and refilled the glass the old man pushed over a ten-drachma bill and motioned for the man to lean in. The bartender looked at old man and eventually obliged, taking the bill in the process. The old man now whispered in his ears.

He quietly told him what he wanted, passage to Hellas, and hinted that he'd order more beer at the same price if the man answered. The sour looking man idly picked his nose now, digging something out of it and wiping himself off on the apron before he grunted that there wasn't much traffic that way these days, that the empire had gotten anal about border protection recently. He did know some that might work though, even if his moment was pretty bad these days. The old man pushed over a fifty drachma bill towards the man without a word and the man snapped his fingers, a wet snap coming from them as he seemed to remember a few people.

The old man was told of the two the bartender could think of that might be of aid. One was the crew of a smuggler's vessel that used to run trips to Nyandom. They were about to leave within a few hours and the bartender pointed towards them.

The old man turned to see some of the most unsavoury characters he had seen sit by one of the table, currently loudly laughing at some of the men's stories about something. After a few seconds he turned back and shivered in disgust as he heard what they were talking about.

The other was actually just a fisherman, a man who was currently sleeping in a corner with his face down in a large puddle of liquor. Said fisherman apparently used to ferry people across the sea for a pretty cheap penny. His boat was one of the really old ones, not even a proper hovercraft but a skimmer, a vessel that only could skim across the water's surface. However he was a notorious drunk and prone to random outbursts of grief. The old man looked at the sleeping man with exasperation in his face. That man might very well end up driving them into the straits.

He turned to look back at the bartender and asked if there were no other people who could help. The bartender shook his head resolutely and the old man sighed, actually raising his glass and taking a swig of the beer. The second glass beer wasn't as bad as he had feared but it was not by much. Looking back at the two options he had he pondered what the heck to do. Neither of them were attractive options and normally he's have stayed away from each of them

Yet, as it was he had too much at stake to not take one of them. In a cluster of trees a rough mile from this town the girl had had sworn to bring back to her homeland was waiting along with her new-found animal companion. They had remained here for too long as it was, the sooner they got out of the nation the better.

The smugglers or the drunk, which was he going to take?

* * *

"To Hellas, Hellas, we set our course." the one-eyed man muttered to himself as he looked out across the clouds. The sun was rising behind the ship and was illuminating the distant coastline far to the south.. The man was leaning on the railing on the ship's roof and sung an old air-shanty which supposedly was as old as air-travelling itself as he looked at the sight. "High through the clouds our ships will soar. In Hellas, Hellas our journey will close, travelling to the empire's core."

"Oh suck taint." a voice behind him muttered. The one-eyed man looked back to see one of his companions, a man with mohawk and a sour look on his face, stand behind him. "Far as I know we might as well we dead before we get there."

"Getting tired of being the bitch of our passengers?" the man asked, his companion nearly punching him. The mohawk had been run ragged by the man they were ferrying to Hellas, à man that initially had seemed like a harmless old coot but turned out to in truth be none other than the great hero Takahata Takamichi. Despite the man's reputation as a polite and gentle man he had made it very clear that he wouldn't hesitate to kill half the crew if they tried anything against either him or the girl accompanying him.

The utter sincerity in the man's threats and the giant dog-like monster that had followed him aboard had both terrified the crew and one of them, namely the man with the mohawk, had more or less become the servant of the group, having to cater to their every wish.

"I've been fetching shit all night." the mohawk said, "Clothes, shower, food, do they want a tainted massage next? If so I'm gonna give them a good old head-massage with the wrench, I can't take this shit any more." the one-eyed man laughed at this and handed the man a bottle he had been carrying in his pockets.

"Here," he said, "Drink. It makes it better." "Thanks." the mohawk said as he downed a large swig of the contents in the bottle. He grimaced when eh felt the taste but still swallowed.

"You still pissing in bottles?" he asked, making one-eye shrug.

"You're the one drinking it." he said. "Says more about you than me really." the mohawk snorted now and looked at the coastline far below them.

"Hey great." he said, "There's the horns," he pointed at a large outcropping of jagged rocks down by the coast. "Means we'll be in Nyandom soon. Can't take this much more."

"You should have asked for a tip." the one-eye said.

"Oh shut up..." the mohawk said as he turned around to go below deck.

The ship steadily flew through the skies, keeping its course and within the hour the city of Nyandom, the gateway to the empire, was visible in the far distance. The old ship calmly flew towards the city, passing through the two ivory towers that guarded the way into Nyandom, and soon it reached the large sky-harbour.

The traffic was not as bad as usual and the ship could get a pier to dock at immediately. As it slowly slid up along the pier and came to a halt along the winding steel tower most of the crew could give up a sigh of relief as four pair of feet made their way towards the exit of the ship.

Two of the pairs were covered in the same kind of boots that the crew were using and two of them were naked, only the paws of their owner landing on the metal floors. Three figures walked down the gangway, a young girl, a grizzled man and a giant, three-tailed, black beast. Both the man and the girl were wearing the coarse clothes of the shippers on the boat they left.

In the girl's eyes nothing but emptiness was visible but the man's showed grief and determination, the beast's eyes showing only the instincts of animals. Takamichi looked out across the city below them and the sky-harbour. The great city spanned out across the landscape below them, a full million people lived here. One of these would be that man, Kagetarou.

His plan had been a good one but now Takamichi and Asuna had been forced to flee after him. They needed to find him though, he'd be an invaluable source of knowledge as they made their way south. Also: Takamichi had an idea about where to go. Looking back at the massive beast that was trailing behind Asuna he realized that it would be too eye-catching to let that animal walk the streets.

The harbours were rough places though and it would be a risk to leave her here, that being the only way they could conceivably leave the beast behind. In this loud, sprawling area where skyships wires, hovertrucks and many other things created a constant roar of activity many crimes were committed. Had they any options though? No. Takamichi needed to get into the city and Nyandom was safe enough that he could do it, they were in the empire now after all, no matter how rough the harbour was it beat being in the middle of the enemy capitol.

Adding to this the fact that the beast was as powerful as he, perhaps even more so, and it was a reasonable risk to take. She'd be in good care with the massive animal. Leaning in to whisper a few words to Asuna, Takamichi told her what she should do. He handed over a small amount of money to her in case she'd get hungry.

Asuna nodded as she got what her former teacher meant and walked over to a bench to sit down, the beast lying down next to said bench. Takamichi looked at Asuna, the girl seeming so similar to Chachamaru where she sat, expressionless and totally still. In the large, only partially fitting clothes she wore she looked too much like the many fugitives he remembered from the schismatic war.

Yet, he had to leave. With a little luck they could find the man within the day, something he really hoped for. Leaving Asuna behind was hard, very much so, but he had to do it. Takamichi stepped out on the pier again and looked down at the city. Below him Nyandom was spread out, from one hillside to another, vast and populous.

Takamichi flexed his shoulders and felt his neck, realizing that he was more or less totally recovered. He leaped down from the sky-harbour and plummeted though the air towards the ground. When he hit it it was with a deft series of steps that caught him easily. He had landed on one of the crowded streets of Nyandom, many having turned to look at him when he landed.

Regrettable, but he'd need to draw attention for what he'd do now. Thankfully it paid off, a few moments after his dramatic descent he noticed a figure dashing around the corner and into an alley, away from him. All he had time to see was a large, slouching cap covering the head of whomever was running.

Takamichi smiled, realizing he had succeeded. With two rapid instant movements he zipped around the corner and into the alley, appearing in front of the owner of the large cap. A small kid, seemingly about twelve years old and with a tanned face, collided with him and bumped to the ground.

"Ow!" the kid yelled and looked up at him with a pissed glare, seemingly about to speak up. However when he saw the man towering above him his eyes widened and he looked back at the street where Takamichi had been standing only seconds ago. Seeing that there was no one there the little boy's face started to rapidly look back and forth between Takamichi and his former position. Surprise was evident on his face Takamichi put a large smile on his face as he reached out a hand to help the kid up.

"Get up." he said, "You look silly on the ground." The kid looked at his hand, for a second apprehensive but then accepting it. Takamichi stepped back as he dragged the kid to his feet in order to get out of the reach of the kid's nimble fingers. "You are one of Nikodemos' kids, right?" He asked the boy, who almost had managed to get his hand into his pocket. The kid immediately went into defensive position now, hiding his surprise behind narrowed eyes.

"What's an Nikodemos?" he asked after only a split-second, assuming an unknowing and widely smiling façade. "I'm Axios," the boy continued, "I'm the best tout in Nyandom, yessir, that's me!" Takamichi noticed that things were as usual with these kids, they wanted payment before they did anything. He fished out a hundred-drachma bill from inside his clothes now and held it out in front of the boy. Axios' eyes lit up when he saw the large bill. His small hands begun to grab after it but Takamichi pulled it away before the boy could get hold of it. For a few seconds Axios continued trying to grab the bill and Takamichi continued to deny him it, pulling it left and right as the boy's arms flailed after it.

"Do you want to earn this boy." He asked now. Axios immediately nodded, his small eyes shining with greed. "Then you know who I want to see." Takamichi smiled. Now the greed was diminished somewhat and replaced by hesitation.

"Well sir, I ain't knowing no Nikodemos I don't." he said now, "But for that I'll gladly show you the best gentlemen's clubs in the city and..." Takamichi chuckled as he pulled out another hundred drachma bill. "... oh you meant Nikodemos!" the boy instantly shifted tracks now, faking an understanding look. "I recognize the name now I do. Follow me sir and I'll take you there." the boy smiled widely and held out his hands now. Takamichi put one of the bills in his hands now and the boy grinned at him before he turned and waved for Takamichi to follow. "This way sir!"

Takamichi followed the kid as he led him through the streets to the home of Nikodemos, Nyandom's secret king of information brokering, the man said to have every bum in the city in his pocket and who knew everything.

If anyone knew where to find that person, it was him.

* * *

It was the sixth day of Kagetarou's hiding in Hellas and he was currently sitting at a small table inside the hotel room he had rented. The hotel he currently stayed at was one famed for its diverse and exotic clientèle and one which never asked questions, meaning it was a good pace to maintain a low profile at. The small room had few windows and was quite cramped for a man of his size, yet it was sufficient for him.

On the table he was sitting at was a map over the eastern parts of the continent was splayed out and Kagetarou was currently marking down possible routes to the Pyrith mountains. A lot of the lands between Hellas and northern Vespertatia consisted of shrublands and moors, perfect areas to be spotted in. Also both the Hellas border patrols and the possibility of Megalomesembric attempts at reinforcing that border would be an issue.

If they attempted to cross the border from that direction that was.

Kagetarou had drawn their route from another direction, namely from the city of Al Jamila, the capitol of Kadesh. The city was almost as infamous as Granicus and a perfect place to find someone to smuggle them into Vespertatia. What Kagetarou was the most worried about was the very last part of the journey though.

Even when discounting Megalomesembric patrols, the fact that the country was still at war to a large part and that there was no guarantee the resistance wouldn't strike first and ask questions later, the mountains themselves would be their worst enemy. The Pyrith mountains was one of the most infamous places in the world, being charged with immense amounts of magic. This magic made strange mists blanket large parts of the valleys and passages in the mountains, mists that easily could displace you. Throughout the millennia countless thousands of people had died in those mountains, some getting lost in the mists and never coming out again, some finding that all landmarks had changed or simply falling to one of the many colonies of tiger-dragons that lived and thrived in the mountains. Even teleportation and telepathy failed in these mountains, sometimes horrifically.

The mountains had been mostly tamed by Vespertatia, centuries of hard work allowing them to channel away the magic of the mountains and creating giant geysers of magic energy that channelled the magic harmlessly into the sky. This epic feat of engineering and ingenuity had granted the western parts of Vespertatia the curtain of unforgettable magic lights that had adorned its western horizon for centuries. Yet those geysers had been destroyed and the mountains were now as chaotic and unpredictable as they had never been.

Only the mountain peoples of the Pyriths knew how to navigate them safely and they had all joined the resistance a long time ago, as much as they had resisted Vespertatian attempts to rule them they had a thousand times greater reason to hate Megalomesembria after several of their villages had been bombed during the invasion of Vespertatia. When the blitzing Maglomesembrians had bumped into the mountain villages their inhabitants had instinctively attacked the skyships that appeared above their villages. The result had been carnage.

Kagetarou supposed that he should be grateful for this fact. The mountain peoples were a strange sort, their culture was martial, ruthless and taught that perseverance was the highest virtue. Vespertatia, who never had been much for any sort of warfare, had no doubt had great help from these men. After the soldiers who had survived after the fall of Ostia had retreated into the Pyriths this people must have been an invaluable aid to them.

His train of thoughts were interrupted now however as someone knocked on the door to his room. Kagetarou tensed, wondering who that would be. He didn't expect anyone and he had few whom he called allies in this city. Therefore it was understandable that he slowly wrapped one of his shadow bands around his hand and preparing himself for the possibility of a fight. Getting up from the chair he was in he headed to the door and slowly reached for the handle.

Opening the door he saw.... nothing. There was nobody there. The hallway was empty .

"Hi mister Kagetarou!" a voice said far below him and Kagetarou looked down to see a tiny kid, somewhere around twelve years old, with tanned face and a large, slouching cap on his head. He was currently dwarfed by Kagetarou, who was almost twice his size. Kagetarou found himself blinking at the sight.

"Who are you?" he asked the kid, glancing to the sides to see if it was a trap of some sort. "What do you want?" the boy grinned at him and folded his hands behind his head.

"The name's Axios sir." the boy said, "Best tout in Nyandom. I'm here because I'm paid to bring you a message from a friend of yours."

"What "friend"?" Kagetarou asked with suspicion in his voice. Now the little boy pursed his lips.

"Well: he didn't give me no name he didn't." Axios told Kagetarou, "But he was an old guy with glasses, was a pretty scruffy too, with short silver hair. Oh, and he was really fast too, he caught up with me in no time at all, yes sir he did. He said that it was a matter of royal proportions."

Kagetarou blinked at the strange turn of phrase before he froze. That description, coupled with the strange turn of phrase, was enough to make his heart freeze. If it meant what he thought it meant... this could be very bad. He motioned for the kid to wait a moment before he walked into the room and made sure all his items were securely stashed away. It only was a few seconds before he get out into the hallway again and locked the door. .

"Where is he?" Kagetarou's voice was one that wasn't going to tolerate delays. It was cold as ice and demanding. Axios didn't seem to mind though, all he did was keeping up his grin and motion for Kagetarou for follow him.

"This way sir!" Axios said as he hurried through the corridor, Kagetarou hot on his trail. The little kid led him out of the hotel and down towards the nearest plaza. The streets were bustling and several times Kagetarou nearly lost sight of the kid but he managed to keep up. A gnawing worry had settled in him now, festering away at his soul. Would it be Takahata-dono? What had happened? They soon reached a narrow alleyway by the end of the plaza and Axios pointed him inside said alleyway.

"Your friend will be here, yes he will sir." the boy grinned. "And if you ever need to get anywhere in Nyandom, that's me you wanna... hey!" the boy's monologue was ignored by Kagetarou, who stride into the alleyway with swift steps. He didn't care for what the street urchin had to say, what he did care for was the identity of whomever was inside this alley.

The alleyway took a left up ahead and even though the streets were only a few meters behind him it was almost as if the sounds died off at once, muted in this small, cramped alley. Like in many alleys, the sides were lined with trash and debris. Yet Kagetarou could see a figure up ahead, a person wearing the rough, simple clothes of a shipper and who was currently smoking a cigarette. As he came close, he saw who it was.

"Takahata-dono." he greeted the man, silently fearing what the man's presence here meant. Takahata looked up at him and took the cigarette from his mouth.

"So you're Kagetarou." he said, his voice was soft and gentle, yet still rich and deep. There was a power to it, a hidden, yet unmistakeable power. Kagetarou willingly admitted he was a bit nervous in front of one of the legendary members of the crimson wing. Even though his deeds during the war were modest in nature those who still kept their eyes and ears open knew that this man had long since surpassed his master. There were few who Kagetarou would admit could beat him easily, but this man was most probably one of them. "I've been told what you've done for Asuna," Takamichi continued, "I'm in your debt."

"You aren't." Kagetarou said, "What I did I did due to my debt to her family, one I can never fully repay. Yet, how come you are here?" he continued, making Takamichi sigh.

"We were discovered," the man said, "The inn we were hiding at was firebombed and we only barely managed to escape." The man's words made Kagetarou cold inside. Firebombed... by the fates, but what about...?

"Where is the princess?" he asked urgently, bit by bit all of his fears were coming true.

"She's safe." Takahata said making a calming motion with his hand, "More safe than either of us could make her."

"Did you leave her with Nikodemos?" Kagetarou didn't know how this man had managed to get the street urchin to help him but he guessed it was through the number one information broker of Nyandom. However that man was infamous for his appetite for girls. If Takahata hadn't known this...

Takahata only shook his head with a smile though. "Don't worry." he said, smiling slightly. "I know of the man's reputation. She's at the skyharbour in fact, with the best bodyguard she could get."

"Then we can't delay." Kagetarou said, "let us go find her." he was about to walk past Takamichi and out of the other end of the alleyway but Takamichi stopped him.

"Wait..." he said, his face showing a sudden sadness. In his eyes Kagetarou could suddenly see a deep grief, Grief and shame. "There's... there's something you must know first..." he leaned in and Kagetarou did so as well, deeply troubled by the man's eyes.

* * *

Asuna sat silently on the bench, untroubled by the looks she attracted. Both her looks and the beast laying next to her attracted a lot of attention. Her looks might have attracted the wrong sort of attention but the giant canine did a wondrous job telling those with wrong ideas to stay away. The beast lay with its head high and its eyes scanning the passer-bys.

The girl was at the moment chewing on a wrap containing some kind of fish, vegetables and liberal amounts of some kind of green sauce. It was apparently speciality of Nyandom, a famed and iconic one. Yet the girl didn't even feel the taste. She sat and absently consumed the meal, chewing and swallowing with an almost robotic look on her face

The girl was deep in thought at the moment. Even with her emotions ripped out, Asuna was still there, still awake, and she had a lot on her mind. Without emotions it was hard to find a direction for the thoughts to take, without feelings it was hard for her to judge what things meant. Yet she still thought.

She remembered her family, how they had lived, how they had loved her, how they had died. She remembered Takuro, her strict father, the man who had seemingly been made out of iron but who could – when he was sure nobody looked – display such affection that he became a different person. Her mother Yoshiko, a woman who had always had a smug smile on her lips and was infamous for how she played everyone around her like a master musician yet who never had shown Asuna anything but the most sincere and loving smiles. Her eldest sister Arika, the ice princess who had emulated both her parents and strove to be a perfect ruler. Ice cold, calculating, forceful and perceptive, she had only shown Asuna love a few times but the times she had done it were memories Asuna held dear. And Sato... the rebellious, audacious trickster who left the palace regularly, sometimes for months, and always came home battered and bruised but with a giant smile on his face. Unlike the rest of his family he had always shown Asuna love, even when decorum called for restraint, and at times people had said that the only lady of his heart was his little sister.

But what did all these things mean to her now? Nothing. She couldn't attach meaning to anything, her heart was too cold to do so. The only thing she could conceivably attach meaning to was one thing.

Survival.

People wanted her dead, she did not want to die. Why did she not want it? Because that would be the end of her existence, then it would all be over. Endless possibilities snuffed out, millions of paths torn off. She did not know what she wanted but she did know that no matter what she wanted it would be denied if she died. Survival was therefore her goal.

For survival, she needed protection. She was weak and inexperienced, her training with Negi and Setsuna had been a patchwork and she did not have the strength to fight the people who wanted her dead. Therefore she needed to go back to Vespertatia, her people would want to protect her. That was what she had to do to survive. Survival was all that mattered, that was all that could matter to her.

The sudden growl of the beast by her feet made her look up and see two figures approaching. She immediately put one hand on the beast's neck and sent a calming command to it and the beast responded. It was good that she had managed to get this level of control over the animal, it made her chances better if she had something like this on her side. Also, the two figures that came towards her were on her side as well, meaning that they were keys to her survival.

Kagetarou and Takamichi both got up to her and Asuna put away the now empty paper in which the wrap had been resting. Kagetarou fell to one knee and bowed his head to her.

"Your highness." he said humbly, "I'm glad that you're safe." the man didn't even seem to glance at the huge beast next to Asuna but Asuna could tell. She didn't say anything though.

"Do we head for Vespertatia right away?" she asked, thinking that there was no point in delaying here.

"First thing in the morning your highness." Kagetarou said, "We need to buy equipment and supplies for the journey. But tomorrow we'll leave at dawn."

"Then let's get to it." Asuna said, getting up from her seat. The more the scales could be balanced for her survival, the better.

"As you wish, your highness." Kagetarou got up from his kneeling position and respectfully motioned for Asuna to follow him. The beast got up from its resting place as well and followed Asuna.

Yet, there was one person who did not move instantly. Takamichi had been frozen on the spot when he had heard Asuna's voice and seen her eyes. Suddenly the girl had changed, she had gone from distant and uncertain to what he could only describe as ice cold. Her eyes, her voice, they were those of a person who looked on the world and saw only numbers, only statistics. The ice cold, inhumanely rational voice of someone who's emotions were frozen into ice and who only could see the world with the cold, logical eyes of total amorality.

That girl wasn't the confused, lost girl he had travelled with back then. She had the same lack of emotions, but her emptiness was cold, frozen.

"_By the fates..." _Takamichi thought to himself, _"Asuna what have you become?"_

_

* * *

  
_

Inside the massive chamber the massive dragon roared as it charged the intruder. The ground trembled as it took flight and spread its wings wide. It threw a massive shadow over the human it attacked as it growled. It was just about to pounce upon the cloaked figure that just had entered the large chamber when said figure suddenly raised its hand and with a single command, uttered in latin and spoken with the crack of a whip, a massive burst of snow and numbing cold detonated in the beast's mouth. The dragon's roars turned into howls of pain as the figure kept on walking, chanting as it did so.

Reaching out towards the beast that had landed a few dozen meters from her and which was now trashing wildly, a flash of light erupted from the figure's hands. When said flash had abated the massive dragon was coated in ice. Massive amounts of ice covered the barren chamber, a chamber that once had been filled with life but which now held only small sprouts and singular leaves. It was a sight of irony, he massive ice covering what looked like the first efforts of spring to awaken and the giant beast.

Yet none of this mattered to the figure. A smile spread over the lips visible under the heavy hood before it snapped its fingers and spoke two more words. This command made the ice covering the dragon shatter. With it, the dragon shattered as well, being reduced to small, frozen chunks. The figure didn't pause even for one second to consider or watch the shattered corpse of the giant beast, it only kept going .Right in front of it now as a large flight of stairs leading up to two massive bronze gates. The figure quickly ascended the stairs and when it reached the gates it slapped them.

The action, seemingly more reserved for chastising someone than opening a gate, was much more effective then its appearance suggested. The gates flew open with a crash, trembling as the figure passed through them and into the verdant landscape beyond them. Framed by the unsteady ringing of the gates, the figure looked out across the verdant, green landscape that lay beyond, a land of water and vegetation surrounding a tall, wide tower.

"Albiero!" a female voice came from the figure. It was the deep, sensual voice of a fully grown woman, a voice that could send shivers down many spines. Yet at the moment it screamed, a scream filled with fury more ancient than the very chambers around it. The sheer power in her scream was enough to make the air whip into a short storm, magic sizzling around the woman.

Beneath the hood two emerald eyes were glowing with rage enough that shades of red was dancing in them, at many times even drowning out the green. Her teeth were clenched and in the corners of her mouth fangs had appeared. The woman started walking again, heading straight towards the tower with the rage seething around her and making the very air boil.

An unfortunate willow hung down over the path and, brushing over her face as it swayed in the wind. The woman didn't even look as she annihilated the large, nearly a century old tree with a single spell, reducing it to frozen shards with a shivering detonation. As she reached the tower she did not take the stairs, instead throwing herself into the air and taking flight as if it was the easiest thing in the world to do.

She rapidly shot high into the air, soon reaching the top of the tower and landing upon the marble floor of the terrace there. It was there that the person she sought stood. Wearing his usual coat and with his usual nonplussed look on his effeminate face The woman threw back her hood now to reveal a head filled with long, golden hair that glittered in the soft light filling the chamber.

"Why hello there kitty." Albiero said with a smile as he saw her. The man was seated on a chair by a table set for tea. The waterfalls surrounding the towers threw a steady sound of falling water over the roof. "Quite an entrance I must say. I take it the power-limiters are gone?" He wasn't surprised, after the cataclysmic battle if was expected that the spells that kept her powers sealed away had collapsed.

"Where is he?!" the woman snarled, cutting Albiero off and making the man blink. Her voice was brimming with barely-controlled rage, "Where is Nagi?!" she screamed now. "He's nowhere on Mahora, I've looked for him. Where did that twit go!?"

Now Albiero's expression changed, from non-plussed it went to solemn. "I see..." he sighed, lowering his head somewhat as he put down his cup.

"Where!?" the woman's rage wouldn't accept silence for an answer.

"He left." Albiero said quietly. The man glanced at her before he continued. "Evangeline, I know you're angry, but please, try to understand." Albiero's face showed only sadness and sincerity as he spoke. "Nagi was devastated after what happened, he refused to even speak. As much as you rage, try to understand. He was sent over the edge, he couldn't deal with it."

"Do...." Evangeline seemed as if the anger had slipped off her now. She stood still and stared at Albiero, who gently approached her, seeing the disbelief in her eyes. "Do..." Evangeline only blinked her eyes wide. "Do you believe I care for even a second about that?!" In only a second her anger returned at full force and her voice rose to a scream again. The air whipped around her as her anger became palpable in the every air. Albiero was actually force to step back as the anger boiled around the ancient vampiress.

"He made a deal." the woman hissed, "Three years, if I showed I could live in his precious "light" for three years he would free me. Yet he didn't free me when the time was up. I can stomach that, he was trapped in the nether realm, but now when he came out of it he's run off again?! Never!" This time her anger took physical shape, the ground under her feet detonated as Evangeline sent a surge of her magic into it. Most of the roof of the tower was blasted cleanly off and it took a good while for the debris and the dust to settle.

Albiero, who had managed to stay upon one of the few remaining pieces of roof, removed the sleeve from his face and stared around him. This anger, this power... by the fates he had almost forgotten what Evangeline's true power was like. As if on a cue, Evangeline came out of the clouds of dust, flying through the air with her cloak billowing behind her. Beneath the cloak her expensive black silk dress whipped furiously and in her face only rage was visible.

"If he will not abide by the terms of the deal made I will hold you responsible!" the woman snarled. "Free me, or I swear you will regret it!"

"Easy kitty." Albiero said, seemingly calm but a bead of sweat was rolling down his brow. "There's no way I could undo Nagi's handiwork, the spirit answers to him only and..." Evangeline didn't give him time to finish the sentence before she tore down another section of the tower, making only half of it remain standing up and the rest fly through the air propelled by a massive detonation. The debris crashed into the water around the tower and created a steady thundering for the better part of a minute.

"Don't mess with me!" Evangeline's voice cut through even the explosion. "I know that if anyone gave him that spell it was you!" she screamed at Albiero, the man finding that his feet had been frozen into ice. Before he could do anything Evangeline's slender hand had already clenched around his throat and started to, with inhuman strength, clench it.

"You have one chance Albiero." the woman hissed, her eyes filled with malice, hatred, fury and indignation. "One chance to free me. If you don't, I'll swear I will raze Mahora to the ground. If I'm to remain trapped here I'll butcher every single one of these infantile brats and their asinine teachers!" Albiero was now forced to his knees by Evangeline, the ice having disappeared as quickly as it came. Yet now the hand slowly squeezing the life out of him was of greater concern. Evangeline's eyes showed no hesitation or mercy, the vampiress was more furious than she had been in decades.

"Do you..." Alberio gasped as he fought Evangeline's unrelenting grip. "Really... intend to.... throw away... all these... years...? All that's... happened.... does it... mean no...thing?"

"Fifteen years of having to endure the company of the ditz brigade and having the fact that Nagi betrayed me rubbed in my face?" Evangeline snarled at him before she pulled him close, close enough than their faces nearly touched. "Not two weeks ago I was the handmaiden of the man intending to destroy the world." she whispered, her voice showing no hesitation when recounting that terrible event, "Don't test me!" She tore him away to dangle him over the edge of the small piece of the roof that still was intact.

Albiero was caught. He couldn't get out of this, Evangeline was in possession of her full power, a power he stood no chance against. Only Nagi could hope to contend with this woman and he wasn't here. She was here though, with her hand locked around his throat.

"O...okay." Albiero croaked, "I'll.... try." if Evangeline didn't get her will through it was highly likeable that she'd really do that. Mahora had only just been recreated after the battle and things were as fragile as could be, if Evangeline went berserk they wouldn't have time to save the students, thousands would die. There was no doubt that she'd do it. Evangeline wasn't going to let this insult slide and Albiero feared that most, if not all the change he had seen in her these years were undone now.

Evangeline threw him to the side, making him land on the roof and roll limply across it. He stopped only when he reached the fence and groaned. Gasping for air, he wiped his mouth to get rid of the small trickle of blood that ran down it. Evangeline' foot landed in front of him now as the woman looked down at him, her eyes filled with now cold fury.

Albiero forced himself to his feet as he took out his pactio card. Evangeline had him in a corner, with brute force and pure rage she had pushed him to the point that there were no options left. Looking down at the card he swallowed, hoping that it would work.

"Adeat!" he said, making the books appear around him and with a deft move he picked out the book he sought. Opening it and putting the bookmark inside it, he gave the latter a sharp pull and within only a second Nagi Springfield had appeared in Albiero's place. Glancing at Evangeline, he suddenly wondered if these minutes he could be in this shape would be enough to beat her. He was the Thousand Master, had all his power. Perhaps he could...

No, the risk was too great, if she escaped she'd massacre Mahora. He was trapped, there was no way out. Evangeline stepped back to give him space and Nagi closed his eyes, trying to remember the exact incantation. He was Nagi now, down to the core, and hopefully that was enough to fool the spirit presiding over the curse.

Raising his hands, he begun to chant and weave the magic needed for this spell. A rapacious glow started to glow in Evangeline's eyes now, the glow of a predator who knew that freedom was near. That it had come to this Albiero thought. It was something he had thought a lot recently. Negi's fall to darkness, Nagi breaking and now this. More and more his accomplishments faded around him.

Evangeline wasn't in the grip of despair though, in fact the ancient vampiress was more delighted than what she had been for years. Something akin to hope had started to grow inside her as she looked at the chanting man, Nagi in appearance but Albiero in soul. She didn't scream in joy yet, there was a chance that Albiero would be annihilated as he tried this, but she did not care about this. All that mattered was her freedom, the freedom she had been denied for too long.

When Albiero finished the roof was enveloped in light. A blinding light surrounded Evangeline and she felt something crawling through her body. She gasped as she felt how she was lifted into the air, the spell running through her. It worked... it worked! Inside the miasma of light, Evangeline felt how her chains were undone, how she was released from the curse that had made her recent years insufferable.

The surge was immediate, when the spell had ended Evangeline suddenly felt how she was flooded by magic, the spell that had kept her imprisoned here ended and the vampiress was free, not limited to the streets of Mahora, not forbidden to pass beyond the Mahora bridge, not limited anywhere. She was free! The exhilaration exploded inside her, as did the magic, and she unleashed a storm of magic as she screamed from the joy.

"At last!".she yelled in wild joy, the air whipping around her again. The pulse of magic tore off yet more parts of the roof and the vampiress' joy whipped across the platform. It wasn't long before she stopped though, coming to look at the limp figure lying in front of her. From Nagi's unmoving figure a groan came and Evangeline guessed that the spirit hadn't been that happy about being tricked.

She walked over to Albiero and pushed him over with one foot. The man groaned as he rolled over on his back. His eyes were unfocused and his brow furrowed his pain. To see the thousand master writhe in pain like this... it made her happy. Also. A chance like this was too good to waste. Evangeline kneeled by Albiero's side and took his head between her hands. Feeling his hair between her fingers she marvelled again at how perfect the copy was.

She raised his head and leaned down, planting her lips on his and kissing him deeply. The start going through his body told him that he was shaken back to reality but she didn't stop. As much as she had abandoned her foolish infatuation with the man, to kiss even a copy of him was thrilling. Especially considering the taste of him, his mouth, his saliva... it boded well. When she pulled away she was met with Nagi's confused eyes, so sincere that it seemed as if Albiero and Nagi had become one in their shock.

"Now..." she whispered sensually, "Give me what I want." she smiled at him, baring her fangs as she did so. Before Al could stop her she had planted said fangs in the throat of the faux Thousand Master, intending to take a deep sample of his blood. The taste that almost overwhelmed her was rich, powerful and potent, laden with magic and emotions. It was some of the most purely delicious blood she had partaken of for centuries and she almost lost herself as she gorged upon the copy of the man who had betrayed her. The feelings of the man shivering under her, at first trying to push her away but then succumbing to the intensity of the sensation, was as heavenly, and Evangeline almost moaned in delight.

When she finally tore away from the man's throat Albiero had gone pale and unmoving. Having been knocked unconscious by the sudden anaemia, he looked like a corpse. Evangeline wondered if she had taken too much but the sight of the man's chest still heaving made her dismiss those thoughts. The man was a cockroach, you did not kill him easily. Evangeline got up to her feet now, absently licking the last drop of blood off her lips. The sensation of the blood running through her, in greater amount and more filling than she had felt in decades, was enough to make her shiver in delight.

With one flick of her arm she sent the cloak swirling around her. Darkness teleportation wasn't something she had done for a long time, the curse had forbidden her from travelling through the realm of darkness, yet now she was free.

She had a lot to do, a lot indeed.


	9. Spread thy crimson wing

**Chapter 9: Spread thy crimson wing**

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The lands to the north of Vespertatia were and had always been remarkably unexciting ones. Consisting mainly of brown, rolling hills and thorny shrublands, they were mostly devoid of sentient settlements since the barren earth offered little for farmers and the only settlers you 'd find here would be the occasional hunter or herder.

At the moment a small, sleek skyskip broke through the silent whispering of the eternal winds that blew here though. Skimming along the ground, the ship was a small, rough type designed for the adventurous user. With long range, the ability to take a beating and a large trunk the ship was very popular and common throughout the world.

Right behind the swift ship a black beast was currently running, easily keeping up with the fast vessel even as it panted loudly. The beast's four paws thudded against the ground and its tongue hung out. Yet it did not show exhaustion enough to want to stop, it kept running.

Asuna sat in the back seat of the small vessel, looking out across the landscape with a calm look on her face. The girl had been given a chance of clothes and was now wearing a much more formal set of clothes, consisting to a majority of the same kind of stuff she had worn when first entering the magic world. The only major difference was the fact that her hair was back in the usual pigtails even though it was normal bands that tied them up, not hairbells.

The two front seats were occupied by Kagetarou and Takamichi, the former sitting in the driver's seat and the latter reading a map. A tense silence was resting over the group, broken only by the humming of the engine and the panting of the beast following them. Takamichi let his eyes dance over the map and the many notes Kagetarou had made upon it but his mind was elsewhere. He was terrified at the moment. The Asuna that sat in the back seat frightened him.

During the previous day he had seen her behaviour, her gaze and her manners. The reason they frightened him was because he had seen them before. In her magister magi.

Takamichi hated himself for thinking it but what if that was more than a coincidence? He didn't believe it was the taint but Asuna's contract had still been active when Negi had fallen, what had slipped over there? Had the cold, ruthless personae Negi had displayed during the end imprinted upon Asuna? A thousand questions was buzzing around in his head, all of them things he wished he didn't have to ask.

What was he bringing to the rebels? A sociopath caring only for her own survival and naught for anything else? How dared he think so of Asuna, how dared he judge anything about her after he had failed her time and time again? Takamichi felt more and more uncertain about what he was doing and it made him almost sick.

"Tell me something Takahata-dono." Kagetarou said by his side. Takamichi looked up at the man's white mask. The mask was turned forwards, focusing on the driving and Takamichi couldn't see anything through it.

"What?" he asked. He was secretly awed by how respectful the man was towards him. Kagetarou obviously bowed to Asuna but towards him the man showed a deep, profound respect that at times seemed even bigger than the man's humility before Asuna.

"I have hear much about your accomplishments." Kagetarou begun, "Yet as all such things do, stories tend to grow with the passing. If you do not mind, could you help me shed some light on what is truth and what is fiction?"

"I wouldn't mind:" Takamichi said truthfully. Hopefully it could clear his mind a little. Also he owed the man more than enough to answer a few questions.

"I understand that you were the one who destroyed the pirate fleet operating along the route between Vairocana and Al Jamila." Kagetarou asked. The pirate fleet he was referring to had been an especially ruthless such. Consisting of deserters and criminals, they had plagued this major travel route after the great war. Unlike many pirates, these people had known no restraint, at times capturing entire ships and enslaving the passengers and crew. Takamichi sighed when he remembered it and nodded.

"I did..." he said, thinking back of the slave pens he had found. Those poor people had been more or less broken, terrified and skittish. When he had gone after the fleet it had been in rage.

"From what I've heard that fleet numbered twenty ships." Kagetaraou said, "Of those three were cruisers. I take it those numbers are exaggerated?" Takamichi smiled.

"It was only five ships." he confessed. "One cruiser and four assault crafts."

"Only..." Kagetarou said, actually chuckling at Takamichi's use of the word. "It is strange, isn't it? When you suddenly realize that you are capable of taking down entire warships, ships carrying firepower meant to take down a dragon and with crews consisting of hundreds of men, then you start wondering what exactly you have become."

Takamichi was somewhat surprised by the man's words. He couldn't honestly say that he ever had thought of it that way. Having been a child amongst the members of the Crimson Wing and having seen all their heroics, Takamichi had always considered himself somewhat mediocre.

Mediocre? A sudden smile settled on his face and he couldn't help but giving up a small chuckle.

_What arrogance!_

He could bring down warships, vessels meant to stand above and beyond normal mages, the things that annihilated troops at least, battalions or even regiments where the biggest ones were concerned. And he was this laid back about it? Takamichi realized that he hadn't talked about these kinds of things before with anyone, he had taken his power for granted and even ended up seeing himself as sub-par.

Hubris through humility, how comical.

"I've never seen it like that." he admitted with a sudden smile. "When growing up around the crimson wing... it just seemed so natural." he made a helpless gesture, showing that he understood how bizarre it would sound. Now Kagetarou actually turned to look at him, surprise visible in the faint glow in his eyes.

"Fascinating..." the man said, "To me the first ship I destroyed is etched into my mind. I'll never forget that incident."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Takamichi asked and Kagetarou nodded.

"It is not so that I regret it or such, but it's a fascinating memory. It was a mercenary ship, twelve years ago, that ambushed the transport I was hired to guard. It was just an assault craft but it has a lot of firepower for its size. I realized that we couldn't outrun it and convinced the pilot to stop and let them board us. As it approached I hid myself on the roof. When the ship was just alongside us I managed to identify its weak spots. I threw out as many shadow bands as I could, twining them into one single lance I then thrust into the engine section. The ship dropped out of the air in seconds, loosing all control and crashing into the ground. Since then I have taken out twenty-two different ships, three of them destroyers."

Takamichi glanced at the man, realizing that that was a grand list of achievements. That amount of ships could conquer a mid-sized country, meaning that this man could have stopped a decent-sized operation in his tracks single-handedly. Of course it would pale when compared to the likes of Jack Rakan and the Thousand Master, who together had taken out over three hundred ships during the course of the schismatic war, but that was not a fair comparison. Kagetarou had saved them from the black watchmen, avoided capture and led the authorities on a wild goose-chase. The black watchmen, the elites of magical law enforcement, and the eighty-first division, the military secret agents of the magical world's greatest nation, had both failed against this man.

To get this perspective was truly a sobering realization. Was Takamichi this man's equal? His recent string of failures suggested "no" but as Takamichi thought back on these years and the achievements he had made, he suddenly wasn't so sure any more. He knew not to judge after singular events, sometimes things just didn't go your way, and he has long since left falling into depression and despair behind him. For a while things were silent in the small ship before Takamichi spoke up.

"Thirty-two." he said quietly, "Four, no three were destroyers, one was a cruiser."

"A list worthy of legends." Kagetarou said. "Do you ever wish you did not wander in the shadow of the crimson wing?"

"No." Takamichi said, as he shook his head. "They are the kind of people you make into legends, I am not. I'm thankful for the modesty of my fame."

"Modesty?" Kagetarou asked as he curved the vehicle along the beach of a large lake, "You are one of the figureheads of the AAA; an inspiration to countless people, a proof of how determination can carry anyone far. You're an icon to countless people, a man who ranks in the top ten of the most influential heroes of our time Forgive me but what is modest about such fame?" In the man's voice was only genuine curiosity, it was evident that from his perspective Takamichi was a giant amongst men.

"Is it really that bad?" Takamichi asked, uneasy to hear of that massive fame. Sure he had accomplished many things, but in those matters where it mattered the most, his master, the war, Asuna, there he had failed abysmally. He had helplessly seen his master die, been dead weight during the war, been unable to even help Asuna now. He found himself glancing in the rear-view mirror, looking at the girl who was currently staring out across the landscape. He wasn't a true hero, he couldn't be one, not when he had failed so many times whenever it truly mattered. "I don't see glory as something to strive for," he continued thoughtfully, having one hand raised to his mouth in a thoughtful gesture, "I just want to do what I can."

"As a man or as a symbol?" Kagetarou asked softly. Takamichi was given pause at the man's words and looked at him. "Either way," Kagetarou continued immediately after asking that question. "I am being overly inquisitive, let's let this matter rest." Takamichi was about just to nod when he saw a sudden flash on the horizon.

"Watch out!" Takamichi yelled instinctively as he saw the flash Kagetarou managed to act on it and the shuttle had only just managed to turn enough to not be directly hit by a powerful blast of energy that crashed into the ground where the shuttle had been only a second ago. Veering wildly to both sides, the shuttle spun around, tumbled and ended up crashing nose first into a large patch of thick shrubbery.

Several kilometres to the south the nose mounted spirit cannon of a nearly hundred meters long ship lost the glow it had had a second ago as it cooled down. The massive ship was whale-shaped, much like its kin, and heavily armed. The massive spirit cannon, powerful barrier systems, a full dozen smaller cannons and several dozens of smaller guns were all primed, the power of Megalomesembria's fleet evident for all to see. The ship steadily made its way north, followed by four smaller ships surrounding it. Even though these ships were much smaller, about half as big, they did not lack the kind of intimidating armament of their bigger leader, having each a full fourth of the bigger ship's fire-power.

With a deep, singing sound the bigger ship accelerated, heading for the shuttle it had fired upon, taking the lead as its packmembers followed suit, the long note being like the howl of the alpha. From the interiors of the giant vessels smaller shapes now came. Like a swarm of bees, blue-clothed men upon large lances soared out of their hive and took the lead northwards.

Back at the savaged shuttle one of the mangled doors were roughly kicked open by a long, powerful leg, the door actually flying far away from the impact. Kagetarou crawled out of the vessel, his breathing laboured and coming between clenched teeth. A faint crack had appeared in his mask and his clothes were torn. Yet the man didn't stop to mourn his clothes, instead he pushed the worried beast that had come running up to the crashed ship and reached for the back door. In the same display of power, he yanked it off the hinges and when Asuna tumbled out he caught her at once.

"Your highness!" he exclaimed, seeing the blood trickling down Asuna's face. She had gotten a nasty cut in the face. "Takahata-dono!" he turned towards the first door he had kicked out and saw Takamichi making his way out of it. Unlike Kagetarou or Asuna the man was nearly untouched, only brushing off the dust on his clothes as he got up.

"The Megalomesembrians found us." Takamichi said as he looked towards the direction the blast had come from. They were there, no doubt about it. The Megalomseembric fleet was closing in on them.

"It is as I feared," Kagetarou said as he helped Asuna stand up. "They must have aimed to cut us off at the foothills. Your highness, can you run?" he asked Asuna, who was wiping away the blood on her forehead. The fact that it would make the wound burn didn't even seen to register for her.

"Yes." Asuna said now, pushing Kagetarou away. However she cried out in pain and tumbled to the ground inly a second later. Her face was impassive but her breathing laboured as Kagetarou reached down to examine her.

"The knee is dislocated." he said, feeling at the knee with his hand. He then moved another hand to it and put one hand above and one below the knees. "I'll reset it."

"Do it!" Asuna said and only a second later she cried out again as Kagetarou roughly twisted her knee, snapping it back in its socket. Her breathing quickly recovered though. "How far away are they?" she asked, not having any emotions in her voice despite the situation.

"A few kilometres." Takamichi said, "They'll be sending lance riders though."

"Then there's no time, we must flee back across the border." Kagetarou stated. He reached down and picked up Asuna bridal style.

"No." Takamichi said, having become eerily calm as he saw the small pinpricks on the horizon that was growing, black spots visible against the grey sky "We go straight through them." He slowly cracked his knuckles. "It's too risky to flee. I'll cover you while you punch through."

"There's..." Kagetarou was about to say something but Takamichi didn't give him time to speak. The ships could be seen spreading out, planning to come at them from a 90 degree angle.

"The lance riders are a minute away at best!" he said, "You could do it alone, but Asuna is wounded and the beast will want to fight back. There's been enough running," he continued, "We go through, it's the only way."

"He's right." Asuna said, "Those ships can't get exhausted." Now the ships had gotten closer and Takamichi could see the first hints of the lance riders approaching. Like a swarm of insects or a pack of ravens they were flying straight at them, hungry for blood He looked back at Kagetarou with a serious look on his face

"Ready?" he asked, Kagetarou nodding. Now the first, distant howls of the skyships could be heard and the lance riders were clearly visible. "Until the last moment..." .Asuna reached down and put a hand on the beast's neck, making the giant canine that had been crouching together with his fur on edge start and stop growling. It obeyed mental command without hesitation and the group stood perfectly still as the lance riders came straight at them, the first lights starting to flare up amongst the cloud of riders.

A swarm of lance-blasts shot from the tips of the flying lances, a bright cascade of blue rays that struck the earth where the group all stood. Cascades of earth were thrown up all around the area as a crackling of the combined explosions ripped through the air. Only the three people and the beast were no longer there.

Kagetarou and the beast ran low, the former carrying Asuna in his arms, and they went under the swarms of lance riders. They would have been detected, were it not for Takamichi as he went straight through them. With a flick of a finger, he activated the ring he carried there and formed a barrier under himself which allowed him to become stationary right in the middle of the dozens of men who had fired at them.

Heads were turned amongst the lance-riders as the legendary man appeared right in the middle of them. Many eyes opened in shock as they saw who he was, several of them quickly veered as they momentarily lost control over their lances from the surprise. Yet Takamichi's eyes were dead-cold. With an impassive, almost frozen look on his face the man focused for the faintest fractions of seconds.

A second later a series of razor-sharp cracks ripped through the sky. All around Takamichi the lance riders found their barriers struck my something, an imperceptible, unerringly accurate something that made their barriers shatter into pieces. Many of the men would have screamed in shock were it not that only a second later they were all hit again and this time there were no barriers to protect them.

Not one of the many men who had been hit remained in the air. Struck by this imperceptible force, they were unable to hold onto the lances and a morbid scene took place. A rain of blue-clothed men descended upon the landscape as their lances kept flying straight ahead but their users raining down over the landscape.

The swarm of lance riders were annihilated in only a few seconds and Takamichi's hands unclenched inside their pockets where they seemed to have rested all this time. His iai-ken punches had been too quick for any of them to see. Focusing kanka to his legs, Takamchi propelled himself against the ships ahead of him. His mind was deadly calm and focused. Unlike at the world gate he weren't blinded by rage or forced to keep an eye on Asuna. She was as safe as could be at the moment with Kagetarou and the beast watching over her. That meant Takamichi was free to give it his all.

There was no doubt in his mind, no hesitation. As much as he understood that these men were not fiends, only soldiers out to do their job, he knew he had to kill them all. Kagetarou's words from earlier still sung inside his mind and for the first time ever, Takamichi understood how the other members of the Crimson Wing had viewed the battlefield. Not as soldiers upon it, but as titans.

His fists had the power of a spirit cannon, he was faster, more agile and harder to hit than any ship. He was one person, not hundreds having to work together. This battlefield wasn't an insane situation he'd manage to survive, it was what people like him were expected to do. Was it arrogance when he knew that he was stronger? As the ships swiftly came closer and closer to him and the people running below him he smiled to himself.

There were five ships all in all, four small strike crafts and one cruiser, a classic task force. One of the ships took a sharp left up ahead, trying to turn its broadside towards him, but Takamichi didn't let it. He pushed his hands together and focused everything he had into them. Magic in one hand, ki in the other. The world and himself combined in a blinding flash. Kanka, as much as he could create, flared up and shot out into his body. The familiar rush sharpened his mind, his senses, his entire body from head to toe, and Takamichi put his hands back in his pockets. A mere instant later two massive kanka beams shot past him, one created from each fist, and hit the turning ship squarely in the side.

The air shook from the impacts and two massive holes were cleanly punched in the ship's armour. The power was enough that the ship was thrown reeling, ending up leaning even more to the side than the sharp turn had made it do. In fact, the reeling was so great that when Takamichi impacted with the ship, sending a kanka-powered kick into the side, he actually made it turn upside down and send the armour ringing like a gong.

A small surge of triumph went through Takamichi as he stood above the flipped vessel, a magic disc glowing under his feet. A third beam of kanka came from the sky now as Takamichi smashed through the heavy bottom armour of the ship and hit the spirit cannon. The powerful weapon overheated in an instant and the results were devastating. With a massive explosion the entire front section of the ship was torn to shreds, fragments of the now burning vessel being sent soaring through the air and leaving smoky trails behind it. .

"_You would approve Jack,"_ he thought to himself, _"would you not?" _Takamichi remembered the showy mercenary and how flipping a ship over and ending it by intentionally punching a hole through the thickest portion of the armour was so much like something that man would have done. The smile spreading over his face was almost vicious now as he sidestepped swiftly, disappearing from the disc just in time to avoid a powerful ray or magic energy. He reappeared upon another ship just in time to see more lance-riders deploy out of it. They came swarming out of the ship just below his current position and Takamichi jumped again, back-flipping as another ray bounced off the armour where he had been just a second ago.

Flying through the air with his legs upwards, Takamichi got a good look at the bay they came out of and he quickly saw what he wanted to. Flipping around, Takamichi managed to get into a better position from which he launched two more kanka beams straight into the ship's interior, at the sensitive inner wall. This time the beams went cleanly through, blasting their way through the cargo section and impacting with the reserve batteries that would be stored there. The detonations ripped through the outer armour in the other side with a thunderous explosions.

The now pierced ship begun to reel, large parts of its frontal hovering mechanisms going offline and Takamichi made another shundo, appearing on the ship and striking again. This time he didn't attack with his fists as he did when using the beams though, he formed his hand into a knife. When the hand shot out of its pocket it wasn't to use one of the powerful straights that made the beams, but a slashing motion that went straight along the upper armour of the ship, just above the hole ripped through it.

A bright flash went across the armour, cleanly slicing through the nearly foot -thick metal and making even more of the parts holding the two halves of the ship together fall apart. Now only about half of the hovering buoys actually worked, all of them aft-mounted, and the front half of the ship was being held there only by its connection to the rear of the ship. Starting to reel, the ship begun to tear at the savaged mid-section, the weight of the front making bolts fly out of their sockets, rip welded pipes apart and with a loud, drawn-out creak the ship snapped in half.

The front half of the ship fell limply to the ground, throwing up a massive cascade of dirt. The aft, which had tried to compensate for the loss of buoyancy on the front, was sent hurling backwards. Spinning around out of control, the back end of the ship soon joined its lost half on the ground in an equally big cascade of dirt.

Takamichi had leaped up on another disc and watched the spinning aft crash into the earth. He got out of the way of a series of lance-riders strafing runs and picked them off as he had done with their kin earlier, with a series of invisible iai-ken blows. This time however he felt how the hairs on the back of his neck rose turned around just in time to find his field of vision filled with light. One of the spirit cannons had been fired at him, point blank, and Takamichi had only just enough time to say "whoops" before it reached him.

The crack of energy impacting was deafening, for a moment it seemed as if a second sun had been lit just above the ground. The shock-wave made the remaining ships shake and sent several lance riders tumbling. Upon the firing deck of the ship that had fired its spirit cannon a cheer erupted as the smoke obscured their vision.

Takamichi swore as he flew through the air. It he hadn't done it he'd never have believed it. He had only just managed to neutralise the spirit blast with a kanka attack. His head rung and he felt like he'd most probably spend he next days almost deaf, having an explosion right in your face wasn't enjoyable.

Still, he had the advantage now and he dashed through the clouds of dust that had been kicked up. Reaching the ship, he leapt up and landed right in front of the window to bridge. As he landed he got a good look of the men inside. Their triumphant looks were quickly replaced with horrified ones right before a kanka blast ripped through the window and deep into the ship. Unlike the other vessels this ship didn't end up with its flying out of it, instead it fell apart inside, its innards ripped to shreds as Takamichi kept punching.

Blast after blast of kanka ripped through the vessel as Takamichi steadily punched its guts out. As Takamichi sent his fifth beam through the giant ship's eyes and into its intestines the large vessel begun to reel. He leaped away from the savaged husk that once had been a ship, most of the interior now being savaged beyond recognition. Three ships had been destroyed in as many minutes and Takamichi went after the fourth of the smaller vessels, using a shundo to dash past the larger ship again.

It was easy to tell that these poor souls weren't used to this kind of warfare. They fought him like he was a battleship. Not an illogical idea, but ultimately damning for them all. Takamichi remembered the war and how the Hellas Imperial Navy had developed several strategies and tactics to counter people like the crimson wing. Those times each hero-to-ship combat had been a risky deal, this time it was a slaughter.

It did him no honour to fight these men, they were ill-prepared, unaccustomed to this kind of fighting and evidently green to battle overall. Yet Takamichi couldn't relent, for Asuna's sake he'd kill them, all of them. He moved as fast as he could, using the platform ring and shundos to dash through the air underneath the fourth ship. As he did so he thought back on his childhood and how he had been so fascinated with these ships. He had religiously studied prints of them and indeed memorized the whole layout of many ships. His proudest achievement before the war had even been assembling a 1:500 scale model of the Megalomsesembric flagship, the Svanhvit.

Takamichi was slightly awed how his time as a battleship otaku came to such use now as he slammed kanka blasts through the ship's armour, devastating key component after key component. Power circuits, hovering buoys, weapons systems, his deadly accurate attacks hit them all and he more or less tore the ship out of the air, the vessel beginning to fall the instant he got out from under it. Whirling around and coming face to face with the sight of the fourth strike craft crashing into the ground, Takamichi saw the final ship right behind the now smoking wreck that plummeted out of the sky.

He had to dash to the side to avoid a swarm of projectiles fired from the last ship and realized that this would be tough. Unlike the light strike crafts he had taken down here the last ship was a cruiser, a vessel meant for heavy combat. Takamichi tried to remember the specs for the vessel and smiled grimly when he did remember.

A Chimera-class cruiser, a vessel designed to be the cornerstone of the Megalomesembric war machine. Heavy armour, powerful engines and an array of heavy weaponry, most notably the nose-mounted spirit cannon. That thing was a long-range killer, capable of cleanly tearing a hole through a lighter vessel from ten kilometres away and a threat to even motherships up close. Along with the heavy barrier systems, the several lighter cannons and the nearly foot-thick armour it was deadly, flexible and tough.

Takamichi landed on a small barrier platform and slowly moved his neck, shaking any stiffness remaining out of it as the giant vessel came face to face with him. He focused on the giant cannon, knowing that it would be from there that the ship's first attack would come. His hands were down in his pockets, relaxed but ready to whip out at a second's notice. Neither of them moved now and an uneasy stillness settled over the field, the scene surrounded with the burning husks of the other ships.

It was first now that the thoughts Takamichi was so used to started seeping into his mind, the thoughts about how absurd it all was. Here he was in the middle of a stand-off. A stand-off against a cruiser, a vessel with over five-hundred crew-members and enough fire-power to level towns. But this time he did not feel frightened by it, only confident.

He remembered the great war, how his master had fought off three god soldiers once, how Nagi had annihilated an entire division within minutes, how Rakan had split a cruiser in half with one stroke. Albiero, Zect, Eishun, all those great men he and wandered with back then. This was their field, their power, and for the first time ever, Takamichi felt like he stood amongst them, truly as one of them.

"_Oh me, oh my." _he could hear Albiero's voice inside him, _"It is almost as if you're glaring at one of your students." _

"_Yeah I think you're taking the expression"taking him to school" a bit too literally." _Nagi's grin was blinding in its smugness even when Takamichi only imagined it, just as how his puns were just as bad. .

"_Fifty thousand says he'll mess up." _Rakan deadpanned.

"_Oh shut up, you lughead." _Eishun's sharp voice told the man.

"_Show us what you've got Takamichi."_ he could hear Zect say encouragingly.

"_Remember."_ his master's voice said softly, _"The world in one hand, you in the other, bring them together and become one with all." _

"_It's good to be here."_ Takamichi thought, smiling at the feeling. The ship did not seem so big now, the massive steel leviathan had gone from being a mighty war machine to a clumsy, expensive attempt to recreate power like his, the power that shaped the course of wars.

The seconds kept ticking, Takamichi watching the ship and the crew of the ship keeping their eyes on him. They were most probably terrified, not knowing what to do with him. Yet, Takamichi realized that he couldn't delay here forever. A ship like that would have teleportation capabilities and reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

Pouncing like a cobra, Takamichi was right in front of the ship before anyone on it had time to see what happened. He appeared in a blur of motion, with the kanka punches already blazing. A swarm of powerful jabs created a barrage of beams that smashed into the ship with a roar of explosions. The smoke cleared quickly though, revealing a powerful barrier having absorbed the blows. The ship had managed to project its barrier systems in front of it and absorb the blows. A pity Takamichi had counted on that.

He didn't stop for the faintest of moments as he shot upwards, activating the ring as fast as he could in rapid successions and managing to get above the ship. His hands were out of their pockets now, instead they were swinging around, as was his entire body. Having formed a barrier above him, Takamichi used it as leverage to push his leg against. With the momentum from the shundo, he had enough "fake gravity" to gather all the power he could.

Takamichi spun around, his other foot shooting downwards with the force and the speed of a shooting star. Even without kanka it would have been powerful enough to dent the armour. With kanka, it sent a shockwave down into the armour that made it crack, the sheer, invisible energy tearing through the armour and creating a network of cracks throughout the ship's hull. Even though it didn't pierce into the interior of the ship, the top armour of the ship was reduced to shreds.

Takamichi wasn't done yet though, spinning around again, the man now let the first foot leave the barrier and the other follow its kin downwards. With a scream he charged all he had, every single iota of power. No holding back, no thinking of balance, all power. This time the energy wasn't invisible. This second kick, even more powerful than the first, created a beam more massive and more charged than anything he had used before. His normal style emphasized control and energy management over power, this didn't have any of the former and was all the latter.

The thick armour of the vessel could take immense punishment, only spirit cannons were of any real use against it, most light firepower would bounce off it like nothing. However now it was useless, Takamichi's kick was above and beyond what this ship's armour was meant to be able to take even if it had been intact. As it was, the energy hit the ship straight to the interior, the shattered armour plates useless. They would have been it even if they had been intact but now they couldn't even soften the blow.

The energy ripped through the ship, tearing it apart with a power unseen since the war. Despite its sturdy construction the vessel wasn't cut or torn in half, it was blasted in half, it's mid-section was torn to shreds and the massive discharge of raw, fundamental energy made power couplings overheat, crystals burst and metal tear throughout the vessel. The explosion was devastating, sending a shockwave of energy outwards that only furthered the damage. Indeed, the halves of the ship took enough impact from this that they were propelled in each direction, ending up in a violent downward spin. The hovering buoys exploding from the sudden pressure and the wildly spinning halves of the ship smashed into the ground nearly a kilometre from each other, not a single soul on the ship having survived even the explosion.

Far away from them, where Kagetarou, Asuna and the beast had all stopped to look back and they saw how the detonation ripped through the sky. Kagetarou felt how the shockwave made the ground tremble even where they were now. The man was slightly panting from the rapid dash and as he saw how the crusier was ripped to shreds and thrown into the ground a feeling of awe spread through him.

The cruiser went from unharmed to devastated in mere moments, the large ship was annihilated. Kagetarou prided himself on his power, but this was so far beyond anything he could do. Such was the power of the legendary Takahata Takamichi of the crimson wing... Kagetarou felt almost scared as the realization sunk in.

The small group remained standing at the small hillside they were at, looking towards the smoke the rose towards the sky where the ships had crashed. Even from where they stood fires were visible, small pinpricks of yellow light visible on the charred ground far away.

When Takamichi reached them it was in an instant. The man appeared in a blur of motion, having used a shundo to reach them and appearing a few feet in front of them. With the awe still lingering over him Kagetarou didn't say anything, instead he only watched as Takamichi reached into his clothes and picked out a small packet of cigarettes. Picking one out with his mouth, the other hand reached into another pocket to pick out a small lighter. Igniting the cigarette, Takamichi looked up at Asuna and the others.

"That's that." he said with a smile, "shall we continue?"

* * *

The nightclub was pumping wildly, the wild music filled the air and the people on the dance floor were whirling around in ecstasy. The Tokyo night was alive, its heart was pumping frantically and its veins were filled with running blood. For Toyama Kaoru that was what he loved more than anything. As he spun around on the dance floor with his lady of the evening he could almost feel his fangs tremble. This night he had found a beautiful dame: some European upper class wife who had no doubt gone to Tokyo to rebel against her husband who was probably off screwing some little kid.

Kaoru couldn't understand that: what fool did ever let go of a woman like this? She was beautiful; a perfect example why the gaijin could be beautiful too. Unlike Japanese girls she was voluptuous, almost overly so, and her cleavage was large enough to lose spare change in. Her long blonde hair was like a soft curtain that spilled across her back and her green eyes were vibrant. She was probably too much woman for most to handle but Kaoru had stalked Tokyo for a century and he knew all the tricks. This woman would be his, he'd take her and make her scream in ecstasy and pain; she'd beg him for more before the night was over.

He grabbed hold of her and twirled her around swiftly, deciding to play with her and try to make her lose balance. The woman stayed on her feet though, she moved her feet with incredible swiftness and skill and smiled at him. That only made him all the more happy though; it was only even sweeter when they struggled.

"Don't think you'll win that easily boya." she told him in an accented Japanese. He couldn't place the accent but that did not matter. He took her hands and spun her around again. It might have looked weird of them to dance as a pair when the rest of the dance floor was a churning sea of lone dancers. But how could he care? This woman was the finest prey he had laid his eyes on for decades.

"I hoped it wouldn't." he said, grinning at her. "It's rare to find a woman so skilled."

"I haven't even begun!" The woman said, she seemed to shine up at his words and Kaoru kicked it up a notch, this was it! They continued the wild dancing and the woman's face soon started to get flustered, she had more stamina than anyone he'd seen before but it was impossible for humans to keep this speed for too long. He continued however and it was only after a good while that he dragged her off the dance floor. Pretending to pant and doing his best to look exhausted he smiled.

"I... I see." he smiled, "What do... you say we... hit the bar perhaps?" He laughed wearily, seemingly in the throes of wild joy, and the woman smiled at him, grateful for his offer.

"Yeah... that's probably the best.... thing now." The woman's face was red and she panted, sweat had started to build on her brow but her eyes were still awake. They both headed for the bar and placed their orders. With drinks in hand Kaoru moved to the buttering up phase, it was time to pretend to listen to them now.

"But you gotta tell me." he begun, "How come someone like you come all the way here to Tokyo?" He twirled the glass around with an eyebrow raised. The woman glanced at him now and she suddenly took a quick swig of her drink. A tell: whatever she'd tell would be something troubling her.

"Basically." she said, "I fell in love, was stabbed in the back and abandoned. Best part is that I spent years waiting for him too." now Kaoru blinked. It would sound cheesy and he had once sworn to never be cheesy for real, but who in their right mind would keep a woman like this waiting? How foolish could the Europeans be? Very well, it only made it all the more easy for him.

"Ah..." he said with a sympathizing voice. "It is a good choice of you to come here then. There are few cities better for healing heartbreaks than Tokyo." The woman glanced at him, her drink had already been somewhat emptied and her eyes seemed to have started drooping, the dancing and the drinking was taking its toll...

"So I've heard..." she muttered. "So what's so special about Tokyo? Seems just like New York to me, only a little more Sushi places and neon, and the weird letters." Kaoru smiled even wider now.

"Then you haven't been looking in the right places." he said, slowly inching closer to her, "What about the experimental clubs? The karaoke? The hot springs outside town? That's just the first day of a full month here in Tokyo." now the woman glanced at him.

"Are you some kinda tourist guide?" She asked, leaning her jaw on her palm with her elbow into the table. Her eyes were now focused on him. He had her interest, time to reel in. Kaoru smiled crookedly.

"I'd like to consider myself a heartbreak doctor." he said after a while. "If there's anything I hate it's when people instead of enjoying Tokyo are depressed in it. Shinto teaches us that everything has a spirit, the rivers, the trees, the vales. If so, mustn't Tokyo have a spirit too?" He admitted that he had gone out on a limb there but the woman liked it, when he started to talk about the Japanese religion many gaijin would become starry eyed with fascination and this lady wasn't any different. "So if Tokyo's spirit must feel the people of it cry and grieve, what would that do with our city?" He continued, "It's not all religion either, if people here in the clubs can be happy instead of sad, won't that help the city overall?" suddenly he started to laugh. "I don't know, perhaps I sound like a religious nutjob, but that's what I think, and that's why I wanna help you. So what do you say?" he continued, "Shall I show you what Tokyo has to offer?"

"I like the idea..." the woman said after having watched him for a few seconds. "Where should we start?" Kaoru smiled at this.

"What about a toast?" he asked, "To Tokyo and to the adventure?" The woman nodded.

"I'll drink to that..." she lifted her glass and they struck the glasses against each other before they emptied them. From there is was really all downhill, after a few more drinks she become tipsy enough that he suggested a cab to her hotel. However with a small touch here and a seductive word there they had barely made it inside the hotel room before she jumped him. Kissing him fiercely the woman was all over him, her arms and one leg snaked around him and he responded happily. Finally, finally it was time to claim his prize... He tore away from her and worked his lips down her neck. Then he suddenly felt her hand clench onto his throat.

Before the vampire knew what had happened he had been lifted into the air, held by his throat by the woman. His eyes went wide and he gasped at the sudden shock as the woman slammed him into the wall. He tried to fight back but the woman's grip had turned into steel and didn't budge an inch.

"I'll give you eight marks for the skill." the woman suddenly said, her voice utterly sober now, "But only two for perceptiveness. Didn't I seem to stop sweating a little too fast? Didn't my breathing return to normal too fast and didn't I get drunk a little too quick?" The woman smirked at him and when Kaoru saw her fangs he suddenly felt fear resonate all through him. His vampiric instincts suddenly told him that he was held by another predator, a superior one. Kaoru wasn't a weakling, he had lived for nearly a century and was one of the strongest of all Tokyo, but this woman treated him like a child!

The sight of the figures that suddenly exited the kitchen only further whipped his fear into a frenzy, they were dolls. Moving just as effortlessly and normally as a human the dolls, evident as this from their empty eyes and robotic ears, lined up around them. A blonde woman, beautiful and powerful, a predator above all and a master of dolls.

"You... you...." Kaoru could hardly speak due to the horror," D-dark Evangel... You're the Dark Evangel!" How was this possible?! Wasn't she just a legend?! Kaoru had heard the legends about her, the Dark Evangel, the Doll Master, the Maga Nosferatu, a woman as ancient as powerful. She was a legendary figure amongst vampires and some even believed that she was the mother of all vampires. But why was she here?! He suddenly felt how the woman lifted him down from the wall and held him closer to her face.

"I am indeed... boya..." She whispered, "And you are Toyama Kaoru, one of the little parasites infesting the city's night life. What is more, you are an agent serving the Megalomesembric council." Kaoru felt like his undead heart would stop at this, what did she want him with that? The Megalomesembric council had put a price on her head a long time ago, a massive such, and Kaoru could easily see her wanting revenge against them for that.

"I... It's a pleasure..." He gave her a forced grin and tried to be calm, he just had to be cool, just had to be slick and he'd be able to do this..."So... so how can I help you on this fine night?" At this the Dark Evangel suddenly laughed.

"It really is something about you Lamiai vampires..." she said, suddenly having returned to the seductive manner. She spoke the name of Kaoru's lineage with a purr. "Polite even in these situations. I don't hate that, will you be a good boy if I let you go?" She asked him, smiling at him as if he was a dog.

"Why of course..." Kaoru said, thanking his sire for being so strict on the discipline. Had he been any less strict Kaoru would have panicked by now, unable to stay calm. "I wouldn't be setting a good example if I didn't, right?" He smiled desperately and Evangeline only laughed.

"Good..." She made a gesture with her free hand and the dolls stepped back, opening up a route to the armchairs by the window. Kaoru suddenly collapsed to the ground as Evangeline let go and sauntered over to the armchairs. As he got up she had already taken a seat, sitting with her legs crossed, and Kaoru hurried over, sitting down as fast as he could.

"So..." he begun swiftly, this was NOT how he usually did these things, "How can I be of service?" usually when making deals he was the one holding the high ground. He was the one who'd sneer at the other while dealing but NOT while talking with the Dark Evangel, never.

"The forces of Megalomesembria have blockaded the world gate in Wales, no?" The woman begun, "It is all over maginet and no one is allowed to pass through the gate without being extensively searched Still, as the Japanese envoy, you if anyone should be able to procure a permit for being allowed to pass unmolested, right?" Kaoru was surprised by this. Knowing the stories he had heard about the Dark Evangel he didn't doubt that she'd have no issues passing through the gate both through metal control or outright force if she wanted to. But here she planned to take this route? It was weird.

Who cared though? He liked his existence too much to ask her why.

"I... could..." he admitted, "But those are hard to acquire. Even I must contact the homeland and ask for permission..."

"REALLY now...?" Evangeline leaned forwards. "Don't lie to me boya..." she said softly, her eyes were merry with amusement and her lips curved upwards but Kaoru still felt the fear return. "I'm in a good mood tonight," Evangeline continued, "Use that head of yours to come up with something good and I'll make it worth your while." Kaoru suddenly felt how his anxiety rose, it wasn't anything about his heartbeat or breathing, it was something else, something indescribable to humans that vampires would feel. Nevertheless, it was there now as Evangeline looked at him through softly sparkling eyes.

"Yes," he said, "There ARE certain back-doors as it were. To be honest, perhaps I should dispense the nonsense and get you it right now?" Evangeline nodded with a smile and Kaoru quickly reached into his clothes before pulling out a small envelope. He always carried a few of these, they were excellent bargaining chips. "A diplomatic paper." he said as he took out the paper inside the envelope and put it on the table. He proceeded to open his mouth and pricked his finger on his fangs. "The personal seal of said diplomat, made with his blood of course." he said, with this he put his finger on the paper and focused. After a few seconds he removed it and instead of a bloody fingerprint his personal seal was on the paper. He folded it, put it into the envelope and gave it to Evangeline. "Put your name on it and you'll get through the checkpoints easily."

Evangeline accepted the paper with a nod and put in inside her clothes. Kaoru returned the nod with a wide smile. "Thank you mister." She said and Kaoru continued to smile.

"Anything for the Dark Evangel." he said sincerely, at least sincerely in the meaning that he'd do anything to avoid what would no doubt be a quick and painful death at her hands. Evangeline didn't say anything now however, she just kept looking at him and he suddenly become even more nervous as he remembered some more of the rumors. She was supposed to be a high daylight walker, wasn't that something you were supposed to become by living on vampire blood?

It was then that she rose from her seat. With another gesture the dolls stepped back, disappearing into the shadows, and Evangeline sat down on the bed. Crossing her legs again she looked at him and Kaoru's brain suddenly tilted. What... was she doing?

"What's the matter?" Evangeline asked after a while, "Is the heartbreak doctor suddenly afraid?" her jeering tone would have made him blush in shame had Kaoru's heart still beaten. "You are granted a rare privilege you know." Evangeline continued, "Kings have abandoned their kingdoms for this opportunity.

When Kaoru got up from his seat Evangeline smiled. Her old life was returning, bit by bit she was remembering all that she had once been. But as Kaoru leaned in to capture her lips and start to tear at her clothes she thought about her plans. This was not what she intended to return to, a life as a vagabond. Oh no... she had greater plans, much greater plans.

However for now she'd be content with the pleasure she'd take from this man and she pushed Kaoru back, indicating for him to remove his clothes. She had meant what she said, this man knew how to please a woman and she wasn't picky enough to let a man both good-looking and skilled walk by just like that. Inadvertently licking her lips as she saw him naked, she pulled him closer.

Tonight she'd celebrate.

* * *

A/N: Woo, this was a fun chapter to write, especially since it was nice to finally let Takamichi get to shine somewhat. The man IS a crimson wing member after all, Albiero said that Takamichi had surpassed Gateau during the festival tournament and so I decided to let old falcon (taka means falcon XD) get to shine somewhat. Also: our favourite blonde bombshell vamp is on the lose, and she's not in a good mood.

Next chapter will come soon, stay tight as we head deeper into the Pyrith mountains and into one of the major elements that was added during the rewrite. Hope you'll like it! I know I liked creating it.

As always, read and review.


	10. Into the mountains of mist

**Chapter 10: Into the mountains of mist**

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The pyrith mountain range is famous for its beauty. Stretching nearly one and a half thousand kilometres from the north to the south and easily over three hundred kilometres across at the widest areas, it is a massive range. Its greatest peaks stretches seven thousand meters into the sky. Intersected with these mighty peaks are deep, verdant valleys where the warm winds from the south and molten snow from the mountains forms countless small brooks and rivers, broken up by waterfalls and streams.

These moist landscapes form verdant and fertile landscapes filled with different animals and plants. From the legendary pyrith lilies, flowers growing in magic soil, who's pollen is famed for its soft sparkling and its petals for their soft glow, to the famously resilient black pine, trees harder than any other kind, the pyriths are a treasure trove of fantastic plants and the animals living there are no less amazing. The giant pyrith goats, known locally as storget, and the viskaren flying eels that live in the mist filling many of the valleys, are both fine examples of this.

Many would call they pyriths a paradise, but that would only be a qualified truth. The pyriths are in many ways a paradise, but it is a deadly such. Nowhere else in the world does one find a greater density of dragons, even the otherwise extinct redback lives and thrives in these mountains, and the rest of the mountains are as vicious. From the savage rivaren dragons to the rock-skinned stenata hounds and the kattorn gryphons, the mountains are the paradise of the predators and even they fear the mountains themselves.

The pyrith mountain range is one of the magic world's few remaining high magic zones, areas where magic coruscates through the very earth and air, shaping it fundamentally. Throughout the mountains magic flows, creating thousands of wonders, many of them deadly. None is more infamous than the chaotic nature of the mountains themselves. Passages wind and twist back unto themselves, landmarks seem to switch around randomly, the position of the sun and the stars becomes utterly useless for deciding your heading and the background magic makes even the most advanced navigational systems and spells fail. Then there is the mist, the legendary, dreaded mist of the pyriths. The mist into which countless wanderers have marched only to vanish. Some of them would appear again in an entirely different part of the mountain, some would appear years later, some never appearing again at all.

Down by one of the many rivers flowing out of this large mountain range, on the rocky riverside, a trio of figures sat in the deep night. A fire was dancing in the middle of the semi-circle they sat in and stillness ruled. Takamichi, Asuna and the nameless beast all sat and looked into the fire, Takamichi sitting with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth and the beast lying down next to Asuna with its eyes closed. Asuna herself sat silent and unmoving, with the same cold look in her eyes as always. Kagetarou was nowhere to be seen.

Takamichi glanced at Asuna where she sat, the man not knowing what was going on inside the girl's head. He could see her eyes though, and they scared him. Those cold, calm eyes that slowly analysed all they saw. He could almost see Negi sitting beside her, a similar look on his face.

For a long time Takamichi had been afraid for Asuna, the thought of her getting hurt was one that always had frightened him. He never thought that he'd end up becoming afraid _of_ her. This hollow, cold girl that Asuna had become terrified him. He knew what people with those eyes could do, he had seen them many times during the war. All of the times they were deeply unsettling people, people who wouldn't stop at anything if it meant their survival.

Was he supposed to look at Asuna like that now? The feelings of confidence and determination he had felt during the battle against the ships was gone now. Warships he could handle, facing Asuna knowing that she had become colder than ice... not to much. When Asuna got to the resistance in this condition, what would happen?

A rustling behind him made him tense for the faintest of moments, the beast's lack of tension calmed him enough that he realized who it had to be. Takamichi looked back from the fire and glanced into the night. He couldn't see much due to the fires but the sound of feet hitting the gravel beach and the soft silhouette made it possible for him to identify Kagetarou as the man came up to the fire with something slung over his shoulder.

"You found something?" Takamichi asked. Kagetarou had been off to hunt for food since what they had brought had been lost in the crash. The masked man came into the circle of light with a giant eel-like thing lying over his shoulders, almost like a feather boa worn by a rich lady.

The eel was easily twice Kagetarou's length, it was only the fact that it was coiled around his neck that stopped the ends from dragging along the ground. Though even with the animal wrapped like this two long moustache-like feelers hung from its face, dragging easily about two meters behind it. The head was elongated and eel-like but with eyes that Takamichi even now could see were bright teal. The faint faint glow in them made him suspect that they might have glowed brightly when the animal lived. Along its body, mostly concentrated behind the head, Takamichi saw what looked like large fins. He had never seen anything like that before.

"Yes." Kagetarou answered, "I was lucky enough to find one of these."

"I've never seen anything like it before." Takamichi admitted as he looked the animal over. It was about a foot wide at its widest and seemed to have quite a lot of meat on it.

"It's a viskaren." Kagetarou said, "They are unique to these mountains, very deadly, and they usually live in the mist, from what I know it is rare to catch one even amongst the tribes. The first time I saw one I thought it was a peaceful animal, that nearly cost me my life."

"Magic?" Takamichi asked and Kagetarou nodded as he sat down, dumping the animal on the ground inside the circle.

"Wind, water and ice. They can coil around you and choke quite effectively as well" the shadow user said as he extended a shadow blade from his arm and started taking care of the beast. "They usually float through the mist gently but if provoked they become deadly fast. I've heard that a smuggler's vessel was once crippled by a pack of viskaren when it disturbed their nest."

With quick and skilled cutting Kagetarou sliced the large eel open, digging out the intestines. It was with a sudden start that Takamichi saw how it seemed like the shadow bands moved on their own volition. Like a pack of small snakes they were digging through the intestines, seemingly eating them. Kagetarou noticed his glance and explained.

"The spirits I wield become more pliable with the occasional treat, something like this is a feast for them." Takamichi raised an eyebrow, impressed by the man's explanation for what he was doing. Theoretically it did make sense, he had just never heard of anyone showing that kind of... well thoughtfulness towards the spirits they used before unless it was animal spirits.

"What other dangerous animals are there in these mountains." Asuna asked now, Takamichi almost being startled by her sudden question. Until now she had been silent but now the girl looked at Kagetarou with an attentive look on her face.

"Many." Kagetarou answered as the shadow spirits pulled back, having devoured every last bit of the intestines. He kept cutting, starting to get rid of the skin of the viskaren now. "Starting from the top there's the giant mullra dragons, there's a close relative of the cerebrus jungle's tiger dragons called rivaren, a hydra specimen called manghuvud which also is one of the most vicious sorts there is. Furthermore many of the lakes will have colonies of luran, a giant, crab-like thing hunting with hallucinogenic fumes and long feeler tentacles. There's also kattorn gryphons, krossrese cyclopes and stenata rock-hounds. Those are what animals I can remember from the top of my head at least.

"And the resistance lives here?" Asuna continued, her eyes deadly focused at Kagetarou.

"Yes, as strange as it might seem your highness." Kagetarou answered. "I cannot swear on it but they've most probably forged an alliance with the bergafolk."

"What's that?" Asuna continued and now Kagetarou stopped. As the man tore off the animal's skin and threw it away he was silent. It was first as he had begun to cut the animal's meat into pieces that he answered.

"Nobody truly knows your highness." he said, "All that's known about them is that they've lived in the deepest parts of the pyriths for centuries, millennia even, and that they are distrustful at best towards outsiders. They are half the reason why these mountains are feared. The stories speak of how dozens, even hundreds, of armed people materialise out of nowhere and attacks with both ferocity and guile."

"I've heard about them." Takamichi said, "the stories say that they're made out of mist, it's only by looking at them that you can even touch them. Lose sight of them for the faintest of moments and they'll vanish, appearing wherever they want in the next heartbeat." Kagetarou nodded.

"I've heard the same." he said, "They rule these mountains, a few centuries ago one of your ancestors sent a battalion of soldiers into these mountains to attempt to find a missing caravan your highness. They disappeared without a trace, the last transmission a screamed request for aid that said they had entered a minefield of some kind. The reinforcements found the blasted site of the batallion's annihilation, but neither a single corpse nor a single piece of metal from the four ships sent with them, even as the ground was still smouldering."

"The Megalomesembrians clashed with them during their assault on Vespertatia, didn't they?" Takamichi said now. Kagetarou nodded.

"They tried to cover it up, but I have it from an eyewitness." he told her, "They destroyed several villages that weren't Vespertatian as they encircled Vespertatia through the mountains. The person I heard it from said that they had been assaulted out of nowhere by an unknown assailant and taken heavy losses. They never identified the attackers, there was no time, but it was most probably bergafolk."

"Has anyone ever had peaceful contacts with them?" Asuna asked.

"A few." Takamichi said, "though I have a feeling that those who do have it are usually quiet about it. About eight hundred years ago an Ariadne explorer managed to come into contact with them and reportedly lived amongst them for a few months. She came stumbling out of the mountains with terrible wounds though and soon died. Only fragments of her notes were intact. What little remained described a harsh, ruthless people who was every bit and deadly and subtle as the mountains they lived in. They could move through the mist and not only escape their effects, even control them at times. Of all the things living in the Pyriths the bergafolk was the most terrible according to her."

"And my subjects have allied with these people?" Asuna continued, Takamichi being chilled by the way she used the word "subjects" so naturally. It seemed to her that the only way she could understand the people of Vespertatia was as subjects, her tools to be used.

"Hopefully." Kagetarou said, "if not they'll have had to not only fight the Megalomesembrian occupiers but also one of the most ruthless people there is along with the mountains they call home." Having sliced the meat into mid-sized chunks, Kagetarou impaled the chunks upon a set of sharpened sticks lying beside the fire. "On the other hand," he said as he put the sticks into the ground, leaning them over the fire "They would make for powerful allies. It will all depend on who leads the resistance, with a charismatic and open-minded commander the resistance might very well have gotten their aid. I cannot imagine them being out for anything but blood for the death of several tribes."

"Either way," Takamichi said now, "It's all speculation until we get to the depths of the mountains. I just hope we can avoid the mist." he looked up at the starry sky and the many lights twinkling above them. How many times had he not sat like this before? With his comrades in arms beside him and with Asuna looking at them. Looking at Kagetarou, the mysterious man, he silently came to compare him to the members of the Crimson Wing.

The man was obviously devoted and loyal. Furthermore he had shown he was fearless and resourceful, capable of dodging the Megalomesembrians in their own city. His powers were nothing to scoff at either. Takamichi realized that he couldn't with good conscience say that the man who was currently stirring amongst the burning wood was in any way inferior to the men he had known back then. It was a comforting thought, especially with the coldness that glowed in Asuna's eyes and the dangerous mountains they had entered.

After a while Kagetarou pulled out the first stick of meat out of the fire and handed it to Asuna. "Be careful your highness." he said respectfully, "it's hot." Asuna didn't respond though and only pulled the stick from his hand before she chomped down on it. Takamichi got a stick of meat too and bit down as well, thankful that they finally had gotten something to eat. They'd need all the strength they could get for tomorrow.

* * *

Waking up that morning, Asuna immediately noticed something was wrong. She couldn't hear the sounds of the fire, nor the sounds of breathing from the others. Her eyes snapped open in realization and she sat up with a start. Looking around, she couldn't see neither Kagetarou nor Takamichi. She didn't even see the fire. In fact, she saw nothing.

Mist surrounded her, a deep, deep mist heavier than anything she had seen before. Looking around, Asuna could only see about a dozen feet, perhaps twenty, before a solid white wall blocked her sight. Looking around, Asuna analysed the situation as she took a pair of hesitant steps. Her feet crunched against the small rocks, almost deafeningly loud. Her cold heart didn't know how to fear, but her mind knew uncertainty. Said uncertainty came to her now, the girl not knowing what do to. The mind that had been picking events of the last couple of days apart and a frozen, dispassionate fashion and studied how it could help her survive found itself grinding to a halt.

"Hello!" she yelled dispassionately, hearing her voice echo through the mist. There was no answer, she was alone. Looking around again, Asuna through about trying to find them but she refrained. These mist were dangerous, she had understood that well from what people had said, and she was right in the middle of them. Not a good idea to walk around without a clear purpose, she'd get even more lost. She had one position now, she had to keep it.

"Hello!" she yelled again, not getting any answer this time either. The heat given by the blanket already started to evaporate and she felt how she started to get cold. She reached down to grab the blanket but froze when her hand hit only rocks. Looking down, she saw something that would have terrified her had she been emotionally awoken. The blanket she had used was gone. Somehow it had, having laid only a few feet from her, vanished.

Left with only the clothes on her back, Asuna looked around, thinking intently. It was dangerous to be here, that much she had understood. She should get out of the mist, somehow. But how? What direction? She tried to remember in what direction the mountains had been when she fell asleep, by climbing to higher ground she could get out of the mist. Thinking intently, she tried to remember.

It took her about a minute, but soon she remembered. She had had her head towards the mountains when she awoke. She knew that. After a few more seconds of thinking she was about to start walking. Raising one foot, she slowly started her trek towards where the mountains had to be. Yet, after only one single step, which sent the rattling of gravel echoing through the mist, Asuna froze. Something was behind her!

Her head snapped to the side and she almost fell backwards, coming face to face with the massive beast. Out of nowhere, the animal had appeared right next to her, looking at her with curiosity in its animal eyes. Asuna, who had instinctively raised her hands to fend herself, looked at the animal for a few seconds before she slowly lowered them. Where had the beast come from? Asuna hadn't heard a single sound. Putting a hand down on the beast, she felt its warm fur in her palm. With a quick mental command to the beast she told it to follow her and she soon sat off towards where the mountain had to be.

With the sounds of their feet landing on the gravel and producing a steady beat of crunching sounds Asuna and the beast made their way through the mist. Except for the sounds of their feet Asuna heard nothing. It was as if the mist swallowed the entire world around her and left her wandering in a void. An emotionally present Asuna would have been terrified, she would have wrapped her arms around herself trying to stay warm and walk as close to the beast as she could. However this Asuna only kept going, looking around after any signs of elevation without any hints of distress.

She moved almost like a revenant through the mist, even the sounds of her footsteps fading away in the thick mist. Undaunted and unflinching she kept going, even as seconds turned to minutes and single minutes turned to many. After what seemed like an eternity but which most likely were only about thirty minutes the ground finally begun to slope upwards. It was only a little but it was there and Asuna started to walk up it, the gravel being replaced with solid mountain and the occasional batch of moss or grass.

The emotionless girl did not have room for stray thoughts in her mind, no silent fear at what might have happened to Takahata-sensei or the shadow wielder, her only thoughts were about whether Takamichi's and Kagetarou's disappearance would pose a risk to reaching her subjects. She needed her subjects to survive and without the two men it would be harder to reach them. That however was all she felt about the vanishing of her teacher and father figure and her saviour. The cold girl knew she still had the beast, with it she'd probably make it.

The slope slowly became more and more steep, after about an hour of steady, silent walking Asuna had gotten far enough up the slope that she was starting to see how the mist were clearing up. It wasn't but a lot but she could soon count to perhaps fifty yards of clear sight. Still, those fifty yards revealed nothing but more slopes and Asuna kept on walking.

After about another thirty minutes something happened though. The beast seemed to start, its ears turning forwards and its eyes snapping wide open. Standing perfectly still, the beast stared into the mist ahead. Asuna didn't hear anything but she turned to look at well. She could neither see nor hear anything but the beast did. Soon its lips retracted, revealing its massive fangs, and a growl escaped from it. Its legs bent slightly and it tensed, ready to pounce. Its tree tails started to slowly move behind it, energies beginning to form around them. Whatever the beast sensed angered it.

Asuna stepped back slightly, moving behind the beast in case something was coming at them. She remained there, looking forwards, for the better part of a minute. Yet nothing happened, only the continued growling of the beast. In the end, Asuna put a hand on the beast and mentally commanded it to stop. The massive, wolf-like animal looked back at her, seemingly shocked by her order, yet there was no hesitation in her command, she didn't know how to hesitate now.

Moving past the beast, Asuna touched it again to command it to follow her. Still tense, the beast obeyed even as its tails were still waving. She needed to get to higher ground and if anything dangerous came she just had to order the beast to kill it. Making her way up the ledge, Asuna could soon hear something. It must be what the beast had heard. A distant, faint sound of a voice. She couldn't make out any details in it at first, but as she approached she realized it was a song.

Someone was singing higher up on this mountain. Asuna couldn't hear the lyrics but the song seemed cheerful, jaunty even, and she could clearly tell that the singer was a woman. The beast kept fidgeting though, it growled again as it heard the voice and this time it was loudly. Asuna stopped the beast again and started to make her way up towards the singer. Whoever it was, she still had the beast at her side and if the singer would try anything she could unleash the beast with one thought. She put her hand on the beast's neck again, this time keeping it there. It was for the best to keep her weapons near if the beast got this agitated.

Soon Asuna could see a glow up ahead. Something was shining through the mist with a red-yellow light and Asuna guessed that it had to be a fire or something. Also: she could hear the song clearly now. It sounded like a children's song, the simple lyrics and the easy melody was what made Asuna think that. Whoever sung had to be singing to a baby or something. Asuna eventually decided to walk closer to the singer.

She soon saw the entrance to what looked like a cave and could hear the crackling of a campfire. The mist has cleared up enough that she could see it a good hundred meters away. Yet, they still surrounded everything else. With her hand firmly resting on the beast's neck she moved towards the fire, walking slowly and quietly. The beast was getting more and more agitated and Asuna had to send a constant stead of calming orders to it to stop it from growling.

The main entrance to the cave was semi-blocked by a stone which Asuna had to round to reach the actual cave. She carefully peeked around the corner and looked into the cave to see if she could see anyone. Sure enough, someone was sitting there. With her back turned to the entrance of the cave and sitting with her legs to her chest, all Asuna could see of the female singer was a long curtain of black hair. The beast seemed to tense under her hand when it saw the woman as well and Asuna had to grab hold of it in order to stop it from getting ideas.

"Excuse me." Asuna said. She had to contact whoever that was and ask about the mist. She had to know when they would lift. The woman in there could answer that if she lived here. Still, she kept the beast close at hand. The woman inside the cave started before she slowly turned to look in Asuna's direction. Asuna was met with a beautiful, round face with a small nose, high cheekbones and large, teal eyes. She was only barely clad, wearing a torn and tattered dress with several holes in it. The torn clothes contrasted with her fair skin and healthy complexion. The woman looked at her, her eyes calm and collected.

"Good morning child." the woman said, her voice soft and kind. "I rarely get visitors here, did you get caught by the mist?"

"Yes." Asuna said, feeling how the beast only got more and more agitated. "Do you know when they will vanish?" The woman looked at her with a soft smile.

"You're new to these mountains, are you not?" she asked, "These mist will have abated in a few hours. Please, come inside, the fire has heat for you and your friend as well."

"I am fine." Asuna said, not trusting the woman. She did not plan to discount the beast's instincts. The woman looked at Asuna, then at the beast, who tensed as her eyes fell upon it. A sharp bark escaped it, making the cave echo before Asuna managed to stop it. Slowly nodding, the woman sighed.

"I see..." she said, "I am sorry for your friend's anxiety, the mark is still upon me it seems."

"Mark?" Asuna asked slowly and the woman nodded.

"I was branded a long time ago." she said, "for my crimes I was condemned to exile in these mountains, to live alone in the midst of a nature that hated me. Your friend feels the brand and instinctively hates me, as all living beings who lives through their instincts will do." The woman closed her eyes and bowed her head before she turned back to watch the fires.

Looking at the woman's back, Asuna thought about what she had been told and looked down on the beast as it almost shivered. Eventually looking back at the mist outside, Asuna decided to walk inside the cave. Taking cover in here seemed like the only reasonable option, she didn't think braving the mist again would be a good idea. Grabbing the beast's neck skin, Asuna walked inside the cave and sat down by the fire, opposite the woman.

The woman looked at her with surprised eyes, not having expected this. As Asuna forced the beast to lie down she looked at the woman firmly, planning to be on the safe side.

"I don't want to brave the mist any more than needed." she said. The woman nodded, now smiling again.

"Good plan." she said softly, "The mist aren't something you should brave lightly."

"I've noticed." Asuna said, keeping her eyes on the woman. "Who are you?" she continued bluntly.

"Ranka." the woman said, "Once I had a family name as well, no longer though. And you?" She didn't seem to mind Asuna's bluntness at all.

"Ami." Asuna said, lying without missing a beat. She wasn't planning to let this Ranka get to know anything about her. The beast was still tense as a steel feather and Asuna wondered if perhaps it was for the best to let it attack. Nobody would miss this woman and it would calm the beast, not to mention that if its instincts were right and the woman had lied it would be safer for her as well. The horrid trail of thought didn't perturb Asuna the least, it couldn't.

"It's nice to meet you then Ami." The woman smiled again, a warm, motherly smile. Ranka didn't perceive what Asuna was thinking, if she had she would most probably not have been so warm. "What brings you to the pyriths?" she continued. "Your name is Vespertatian, isn't it?"

"I'm looking for my people." Asuna said. She couldn't imagine that this woman would be connected to her enemies. The name and her strange looks made Asuna peg her as most probably a member of the bergafolk, an exile or something. She would be useful if Asuna could make her talk. She probably would, it wasn't like Asuna could possible imagine her lying to her when she had this massive beast by her side.

"The resistance?" Ranka asked and Asuna nodded. "Then you have a long journey ahead of you." the woman said, "They are many miles to the south."

"How far is it?" Asuna asked.

"Many miles." Ranka said, shrugging. "I do not know the exact distance, but just travel south and you'll find them, or they'll find you." she smiled as she added that last phrase. "But why do you seek them?"

"I'm going to join them." Asuna said, yet again estimating that there wouldn't be any dangers in telling the woman. And even if she'd slip the beast would be ready to strike.

"Join them?" the woman seemed surprised. "But you're so young... why?"

"I have my reasons." Asuna said, her face impassive. Ranka fell silent now and looked at Asuna for a long time. She seemed unsure of what to say and regarded Asuna with curiosity in her teal eyes.

"Do you now?" she said after a good while, her voice having sunk to a slightly lower tone. "Survival?" she asked, "Or anything more?" Asuna's eyes snapped to look at the woman now, finding that Ranka's eyes were firmly fixed on her. "I am not stupid... Ami..." she continued, speaking the name Asuna had given her with a tone that made it clear she understood it was a false one. "...and I wonder, what are those reasons?" She smiled again now, this time showing her teeth. Jagged, shark-like teeth.

Asuna's hand clenched on the beast's neck, realizing that she was out on deeper water than she had thought at first. Refusing to take any chances, she let go of the beast, her last touch giving one command.

"_Kill."_

The beast snapped to its feet, exploding into motion in an instant and throwing itself over the fire with fangs bared and a an explosive growl ripping its way out of its throat. Yet the woman didn't even flinch, instead her hand reached to the side and grabbed a fistful of something that lay in a small bowl by her side and threw it into the beast's face before she leapt out of its path with animal grace and speed. The massive beast yelped as it didn't manage to avoid the thing the woman had thrown at it and when it landed it was with a crash. Loosing all control, the beast crashed into the cave floor, trashing wildly as it howled in pain, falling still and silent within only a second.

Asuna leapt to her feet now as well, focusing to mould kanka and defend herself, but the woman was upon her before she could do anything. With a banshee-like screech, Ranka grabbed Asuna's throat and slammed her downwards, making the girl bend backwards before she lost her footing and her body impacted with the floor with enough force to make her head spin.

Asuna now saw that the woman's face had changed completely. Once teal eyes were now deep red, like blood, and her face warped into a nightmarish sneer. Her teeth were bared and her mouth locked in a wide grin. Her grip around Asuna's throat was strong enough that Asuna almost heard the cartilage in her throat crack.

"How I love you outsiders." Ranka hissed now, her voice clearly inhuman. "You walk into the pyriths thinking you have nothing to fear. Well guess what little girl, the mountains still want your blood!" She was straddling Asuna now, sitting on her chest and both her hands squeezing Asuna's neck with perverse glee. Behind her the beast had stopped trashing, lying still and unresponsive. Asuna stared at Ranka, her eyes wide and her mind furiously working as she tried to get the woman's hands from her neck.

Ranka stared at Asuna as she choked the girl. In her eyes a terrible fire of madness was glowing, pure evil shining in her now red eyes. "Scream for me." she hissed, "Let me see your fear!" Asuna didn't oblige though, the girl had no fear left inside her. Instead she focused as hard as she could, finally managing to reach inside her and mound kanka. Her body lit up as it became a tenfold as strong. Her hands slowly pushed Ranka's hands away from her, the bestial woman loosing her grip on Asuna.

In the end, Asuna managed to, with all her strength, push Ranka off her. She got to her feet at once as the woman was thrown to the side by Asuna's massive strength. Yet Ranka didn't tumble along the floor, one hand shot down and pushed against the floor, making the woman get to her feet with a series of exceptionally agile flips. When they both had gotten to their feet again a stand off was created. Neither Asuna nor Ranka made the first move. Asuna was standing in the deeper end of the cave and had no way to get out without passing Ranka. Ranka, on the other hand, was staring at Asuna with surprise as much as blood thirst in her eyes.

"Now what's this?" Ranka asked with a maniacal tone dancing in her voice, "Where's the fear, where's the fright?" the woman looked at her, pacing back and forth like a tiger. "Trapped in the mist, your pet monster is down, yet you don't even flinch?"

Asuna didn't answer, instead she took this opportunity to charge as fast as she could, trying to catch the woman off guard. With a blur of motion, she tried to kick the woman in the chest and moved as fast as she could, even when her senses couldn't quite keep up. With massive power and incredible speed, the girl attacked without any restraint, one leg out and the other pulled back for a second kick.

Yet Ranka didn't seem to even exert herself any more than faintly as she stepped to the side and Asuna sailed past her. The crazy woman now got behind her and Asuna was grabbed from behind before she could react. Ranka slammed her into the ground again, this time Asuna's face smashed first into the ground, hitting the gravel with a thud as Ranka's hand clenched her hair and forced her down.

Asuna groaned in pain as her head was pulled roughly backwards, Ranka straddling her again before she reached for something. Asuna tried to struggle but she was still disoriented and Ranka's weight on her back made it impossible to move. Ranka pulled something in front of her face and showed it to her.

"Do you see this little doll?" she whispered as she held one hand in front of Asuna's face, the other still gripping her hair. She could see a bright orange powder in the woman's hand though. Even in her dazed state she could realize that that had to be the same thing as the bestial woman had thrown in the beast's face. Before she could do anything, Ranka pressed the powder right into Asuna's face.

The girl instinctively held her breath and closed her eyes as Ranka's hand clasped against her face. Gritting her teeth, Asuna tried to calm down, slow her consumption of oxygen, but her body didn't want to play along. Fired up by the adrenaline, Asuna could feel how she was quickly losing her breath, the urge for more air becoming urgent. Yet the woman currently straddling her back and pulling her head upwards via the hair was still holding the handful of powder against her face, Asuna already feeling the sting of it on her skin. What would happen when she inhaled it?

Doing all she could to not breathe, Asuna felt her head starting to swim, her body was cramping up and her lungs screamed for more air, small puffs of air escaping her as her body tried to get rid of the old air and make way for new. But should couldn't, she mustn't, do it. Then: after a while a particularly bad cramp forced a larger amount of air out of her. Asuna, not thinking clearly, instinctively inhaled to compensate, the action sucking the orange powder deep into her lungs.

Then the pain came. Exploding all the way down her throat, the pain spread through her like a shock wave. Asuna screamed in pain, her voice muffled by the hand still clamping down on her face. It was as if fire surged through her lungs, spreading through her chest. Her lungs twitched, in the throes of desperate panic they tried to push out the poison that had been fed to them but failing miserably. Asuna's hear raced like a stampeding horse and she lost all ability to sense anything that wasn't the pain.

Like a cancer it crawled through her body, tearing, scratching, clawing at her mind. Her skin felt like it started to boil, her muscles burned like acid, her body convulsed futilely. The pain was like a wildfire, leaving only a barren emptiness behind it, muscles turning limp, skin become cold and hyper-sensitive, as if the outer layers were torn off. As she still convulsed, scratching her skin on the rock floor of the cave, even more pain seared through her.

Only seconds later, or perhaps it had been hours, Asuna felt how she came back to some kind of sense again. She was lying on the cave floor, her body limp and unresponsive. Yet, even as Asuna couldn't move even a finger, her body refusing to acknowledge any command of hers, she could still feel. Stronger than ever before, her senses were tingling with sensations.

She could feel the smell of the fire to an almost choking level, even where it had only been minute before. Her skin felt the faintest unevenness in the stone beneath her like it was a shard of broken glass. She was laying with her back towards the fire and her eyes staring deeper into the cave, her eyes managing to pick out every single nuance of the cave walls. Her other senses were just as keen too, including her hearing. This made the song she realized was echoing through the cave as clear as anything could be to her. It was Ranka's voice, singing with the gentle tones of a mother singing a lullaby for her child. Yet the lyrics were far from a lullaby.

"The boy is screaming, mom is gone, nannera." Ranka sung gently, "Through the deep night he flees in fear alone, nannera. The terror consumes everything. The kattorn spreads its mighty wings. And dives, hungry for flesh and bone, nannera." Now Asuna could see Ranka coming into her field of view, the woman walking with a disjointed kind of sensuality in her walk.

It was as if she knew how to walk sensually, but the way she did it, it was off, like she instead of acting sensually wore it like the flayed skin of another person. Her face was still twisted, having morphed into a visage possessing both a warped kind of beauty and a nightmarish ugliness. Asuna's mind worked, trying to think of what this woman was and if she even was a woman. As she swirled around, Ranka's hair spun around her like a spiral, flowing like silk threads behind her.

"The boy didn't stand any chance, nannera." She continued to sing, hunching down slowly, her eyes fixed on Asuna. "The mountains becomes his burial mound, nannera, In pain and blood it all will end as sharp talons his flesh will rend. And the beak gouge out both his eyes, nannera." With every word she sung she crept a bit closer to Asuna, eventually being right in the girl's face

"I never believed I would get a chance like this." she whispered as her body curved in a seemingly impossible manner, lifting one leg going over Asuna and pushing the girl back, coming to straddle Asuna's mid-riff again, this time Asuna looking upwards. Gently and kindly, the monstrous woman ran her hands along Asuna's soft skin, the girl feeling as if she was being cut with daggers from the touches and like a thousand spears were jammed into her mid-riff, yet she was unable to scream, even breath more harshly as her breath seemed to go on auto-pilot. "To get a doll like this, to see what it takes to break it," the woman started to giggle, sitting astride Asuna, her laughter continued, growing in strength by the second.

"Thank you, Kampherre Mane!" she screamed, Asuna's ears feeling like daggers had been stabbed into them as the woman's voice resounded through her sensitive hearing organs. "A thousand lives in your name, a thousand deaths by your hands!" With her arms thrown out to the side and her head bent further backwards than what seemed possible the woman howled in glee, praising some unknown deity. Asuna was lying still on her back though, only her eyes and her lungs still moving.

Ranka's hands clenched now, the widely spread hands curling into claw-like shapes. Twitching, her hands came to look almost like the talons of a crow. The evidently insane woman looked down on Asuna now, grinning before her hands snapped downwards, clenching around Asuna's head, pushing against it with a force that made stars flash in front of Asuna's eyes, the pressure feeling like it would crack her skull. Asuna still couldn't do anything but lie there as Ranka forced her mouth onto Asuna's, the girl feeling a shock of surprise going through her as she felt the woman sucking the air out of her lungs.

Yet, that was only the start. Within seconds, Asuna felt like something more than just air vanished out of her. It started in her fingers and toes, crawling up her arms and legs, a feeling of utter emptiness, like the appendages ceased to exist. Furthermore, she could somehow feel the woman's throat around her as if she was somehow being lodged in the woman's thrat. But her eyes showed that she was still lying there. Even while lying still on the cave floor she felt her very being being sucked into the woman!

Had she been emotionally present she would have felt wild horror surge through her, yet as it was she wasn't even able to take refuge in the numbing effects of the fear as her being was devoured into the woman. Unable to scream, to fight back or to do anything, Asuna was thrown into blackness as her soul left her body and entered the monstrous woman's, devoured by this horrifying monster in human shape.

* * *

"Wake up little doll." The voice sing-songed, making Asuna's eyes snap open immediately. Sitting up, Asuna looked around herself instinctively, being met with nothing but mist. Blinking, the girl looked around, soon realizing two things. Firstly, she was back in the bed she had woken up in down by the camp and secondly, she could move again. The pain and the hypersensitivity was gone, the beast, the cave and the monstrous woman all nowhere to be seen.

Asuna looked around, trying to see if she could find anything. Her dead heart was beating normally, calmly, and her cool mind found itself wondering what had happened. There was no doubt about her being back where she started, what was happening? More uncertain than ever before, Asuna got to her feet yet again. However this time she took special care to hold onto the blanket. The situation could have whipped any normal person into a frenzy of horror, shock and uncertainty, yet Asuna almost mechanically got up, not the least shaken by what had happened.

"Welcome..." the whisper seemed to echo in the mist, making Asuna start and look around swiftly. Her head flitting from left to right, the girl tensed and readied herself, fully expecting to be attacked again. Yet, there was nothing, nothing but the thick, impenetrable mist all around her. A laughter could be heard now, a small chuckle that seemed to resound in the very earth beneath her feet. "..to the game." the voice continued.

Asuna was still looking around herself, clenching and unclenching her hands as she shifted her balance back and forth to warm up, to ready herself in case she was attacked. Yet she still could see nothing. Not the cave she had been attacked in, not the beast looking for her, not the woman, nothing. She stood alone in the misty emptiness, the mist thick enough to obscure even the ground now.

"Where am I?" she demanded after a while, asking the shadowy presence she could feel around her, like the stare of something massive it lay upon her, watching her from afar yet with such intensity that Asuna felt it as keenly as she would the heat of a wildfire. A laughter came to echo through the mist as she finished her question, the woman seemingly having found it amusing.

"Now that's a first." the woman's voice purred. "But all right little doll, I'll tell you." The mist suddenly seemed to warp around Asuna. Changing shape, the swirling clouds turned into people, into landscapes and images. Faintly, yet keenly identifiable, the shapes moved. She could see the images of children running, laughter echoing quietly around them before they turned into screaming as the children begun to run faster. Only a second later those same children were pounced by something humanoid, something that started strangling them. Quiet croaking could be heard before the mist that made up the children fell apart into the wisps of smoke they had been made of, smoke that the attacking figured swallowed.

More such images came, this time they varied. Adult people with what looked like weapons in their hands trying to fend off something before they too were swallowed, figures walking with a lifeless gait that, when coming face to face with the attacking figure, only sat down and let themselves be eaten. Other, even stranger scenarios played into in front of Asuna, all of them about the same, about this humanoid thing devouring.

"What do you see little doll?" the voice asked, Asuna looking at the shapes as they slowly died out

"You're a soul-eater." Asuna asked, arriving at that conclusion quickly. It was the only thing that made sense. "And this mist, it's people you have eaten, their souls."

"Not bad." the voice said mockingly, "Not bad at all. Yet they were all tested, they were put to Kampherre Mane's test, and they failed it. These mists are the graveyard of their souls, a thousand souls ground to dust over the decades. You and your beloved pet will make find additions to them. Unless you find the way out of course." Asuna's ears snapped to attention at this. There was a way out? She had to find it somehow. "Yet I think that you'd rather die than find the way out." the voice continued, cooing in her ear now. "How was it, I wonder, to have the boy whom you loved carve you like a butcher carving meat?"

Negi. Asuna realized that she was referring to Negi. Yet it did not affect her, that memory was as cold as all other things. It was past, behind her and no longer anything to consider. Asuna's mechanical mind dismissed Negi instantly. Whatever Negi's goals had been, Asuna was not one of them and she had no connections with him any more, nothing that tied them together.

Then a wild laugher exploded through the mist, unlike the previous chuckling this was a wild, raucous laughter that shook the world like an earthquake, crashing through her like a tsunami. The soul-eater howled with malicious, contemptible laughing.

"Oh little doll." Ranka whispered after a while, her voice still struck by the giggling aftershocks of the wild laughter. "Do you truly think that? Do you truly not know the source of your pet? What a marvellous find you are, what perfect ignorance."

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked, realizing that the woman had to know something she didn't. Had she eaten the beast's mind as well?

"Ah, ah, ah." the soul-eating woman chided her now with a sing-song voice. "That's for you to find out. Look to the core, look to the depths of consciousness, to the instincts, and you'll suffer, oh yes you'll suffer. But you'll also find out what I meant. Have fun hesitating little doll, stay here and you'll be devoured painlessly and quickly, yet if you want to drag the pain out, start walking." With that, Asuna could feel how the presence left her alone and she was abandoned in the mist.

Looking around herself, Asuna didn't even hesitate for a second before she started walking. Ranka had missed something: Asuna was emotionally dead, couldn't feel emotional pain any more, and physical pain was nothing but nerve-signals. That was her trump card here. Not seeing any other option, Asuna begun to simply walk straight ahead, through the mist again.

Mirroring the trek she had made earlier, Asuna found herself swept in a cocoon of mist and nothingness, a grey, swirling expanse of emptiness that left her totally alone and hidden from everything else. This time, however, not even the sound of gravel shifting under her feet accompanied her trek. It was as if she was walking on a sold rock surface, not the faintest sound coming from her footsteps.

This silence was even more utter than the one that had been omnipresent in the real world. Asuna find herself almost deafened by the sound of her breathing. Even as she took measures to breathe quietly it still seemed to echo, resound with an almost overwhelming clarity. Was it the mist who did that? Or merely her own mind? Asuna suddenly found herself unable to answer that. The clear-cut logic she had operated on thus far felt like it begun to crumble. In a dream world like this, what rules would apply?

A small crack appeared in Asuna's armour, one created by hesitation. She kept walking as dispassionately as always though, not noticing the crack.

It was impossible to tell time here, especially for someone as emotionally dead as Asuna. She just kept walking, on and on. It was impossible to see anything in these mist, no matter what she did it was only mist she'd see. Walking straight ahead was as good a solution as any.

After what seemed like an eternity of monotonous walking Asuna realized that she had to be getting closer to... to something, never mind what it was. The mist around her begun to take shapes again. These times the shapes were fleeting such, faint, crude. It was almost as if the mist, the victims of the soul eater, was writhing in death throes as small fragments of coherence still could be found amongst them.

One wisp of mist twisted around itself and shaped into what seemed like a girl walking down a path before it dissolved. There was something solemn in the girl's walk, something forlorn. She seemed like a lonely girl. However a second before the shape vanished a second figure spawned in the mist, holding out one hand towards the girl. That was however all that happened before the shapes disappeared.

A while later the mist twisted again, another image flickering by. It was the same girl, only that now she stood with a boy. The two were wrapped around each other, exchanging passionate kisses and Asuna could hear a faint, almost imperceptible giggle coming from them.

A swift thought ran through Asuna's mind as she glanced at the scene. That was what she had wanted to do with Negi, wasn't it? When she had still had her emotions she had wanted things like that. Yet now it meant nothing to her, the image was nothing but a faint mirage, a side-note on the journey to find her way out of here.

Asuna passed the image, not sparing it a second glance at first. Yet, after about two seconds she stopped up. For a faint moment she stood still before she glanced back again to look at the mirage. Yet it was gone, her second glance saw only emptiness. For some reason Asuna felt annoyance at that. She felt that she should have taken closer looks at these mirages. Those things might be usable as points of reference, however fleeting.

She quickly dismissed the thought though, deciding that it was an illogical thought that those things would stay in just one place. She'd see more images and they'd move around, in a place like this they would be as fleeting as the material they were spun from.

Continuing down the path she saw image after image, all of them, however, were of the same girl.

The next image was the girl and the boy standing back to back, shadowy figures encircling them. Both held weapons in their hands and fended off the images. In the next the boy was the only one moving, he was walking with the girl in his arms, holding her tightly. Next Asuna saw the boy and the girl kneel besides each other, a third figure waving a hand in front of them as it seemed to say something, Asuna could hear a faint whispering voice. The following was that of the two wrapped around each other, lying with each other. This time the faint whispers were of moaning, male and female.

More and more images followed, all of them following this theme. Surprisingly many of these images were of fighting, travelling and struggling. It seemed that unlike all the old fairytales these two, the boy and the girl, seemed to still have a lot of fighting to do, against massive monsters, against shadowy wraiths, against human beings. Yet, these two were the only people that appeared, Asuna starting to wonder how large expanse the mist of a single soul covered.

About five minutes later the images were appearing more frequently, almost simultaneously on occasion. Besides the fighting there were images of family, of small children the boy and the girl, now a man and woman, raised together. Playing with them, chiding them, feeding them, later on even training them how to fight.

An entire life played in front of Asuna's eyes, from the lonely girl to the married woman. From woman to mother, from mother to grandmother and from grandmother to widow. Finally, the now old woman fell apart. Slowly lying down, the woman vanished. Dissolving into mist, the woman disappeared, leaving nothing in her wake.

"What a pretty life, I didn't expect that." Asuna started and raised her hands again, ready to fight at once when hearing Ranka's voice again. Remembering that the woman wasn't really here, Asuna eventually relaxed.

"That I would come upon this memory?" she asked after a second. "Or that it would be so intact?"

Ranka "tsk"-ed now.

"Stupid little doll." she said now, not even glee evident in her voice, only contempt. "Do you think there's any memories left here? This is a wasteland, there's no memories left from those I devoured except for what I allow to be here. What you're seeing isn't someone else's memories, its your dreams, the hopes and desires you've bottled up so strongly."

"Liar." Asuna said calmly, knowing the woman was bluffing. Asuna knew there was nothing left inside her.

"Oh ho ho ho." Ranka laughed now, "Always little doll, always. But not here, not now. You're so broken there's no point in lying. You might not feel it, but those emotions of yours are the foundation of humans, the foundation of living beings. If you truly tore those out you'd die." now Ranka snickered, "That's why you are so delicious, no matter how strong and stoic someone is, when I eat them there's always this creamy, sweet filling of emotions." Asuna felt how something crawled over her neck, something wet, slimy and soft moved across her skin and left warm liquid in its path. Asuna spun around, kicking backwards instantly. Yet she kicked only mist, the adrenaline in her not finding any release as emptiness met the foot. A long, slurping sound came from all around her now and a moan of contention followed.

"Yesssssss." Ranka said now, "Beneath that cold exterior there's still emotions little doll, you've locked them away well, a deep, creamy centre of the most delectable kind of emotions, bottled up, raging and unresolved."

"You're insane." Asuna said plainly, "And I do not fear you."

"Oh you will little doll." Ranka purred, "Believe me you will. Confuse ignorance with confidence as long as you please, I'll win in the end. I always do..." With that, the presence vanished again and Asuna was left in the mist.

This time Asuna didn't begin to walk though, instead she found herself hesitating. Could that woman be correct? Asuna hadn't even considered the possibility, to her it had seemed as if she had shattered, like her emotions had been destroyed. But that madwoman claimed that she still had them, only that she had locked them away.

The small crack grew wider now, small shards in the ice beginning to fall away. First now Asuna begun to become aware of it, yet she recoiled. She couldn't break down, not here. She kept walking, focusing her mind on keeping up her pace and refusing to think of anything else. She was cold, she was unfeeling, she was a machine. Asuna forced her mind back into that mindset, ignoring the small, niggling fear that started to pick in the back of her head.

She kept walking, seeing more and more images appear, yet she looked away from them. She couldn't allow herself to be distracted in this dreamscape, if she did there was no telling what would happen. She had to speed up, it made the most sense, that way she wouldn't risk seeing so much of the images.

Starting to jog, Asuna soon moved in a full sprint through the dreamscape. She didn't know where she was running, she just ran, away from the cracks in her, the cracks that threatened to spill chaos and despair all over her. She was cold, she was cold, she didn't have emotions, the soul-eater was playing with her. Asuna reached that conclusion after a few minutes but she kept running, solely so she wouldn't have to watch those mirages. They were the woman's work, she tried to break her, that was all there was to it, nothing more.

After a long run, during which Asuna never begun to even feel tired, she could suddenly see something in the mist. Distant voices and vague shapes were visible, congealing around something far away in the mist. Surprised by the presence of images not centred around her, Asuna stopped. Hesitating for a pair of seconds, she nevertheless begun to move towards it after only a short while.

Ignoring her own shadowy figures dancing around her, Asuna soon saw something in the mist, a large, black thing ahead, unmoving, that was surrounded by flitting, leaping images of a kind Asuna couldn't interpret. They seemed to have sprung from a totally alien mind, shapes and sensations Asuna couldn't interpret filling the air. Asuna quickly guessed who it was and kept walking. Sure enough, lying down with its tails tucked between its legs and a miserable look on its face, the beast didn't even seem to notice Asuna. The images and shapes were swirling around it, some accompanied with sound, some moving, all of them incomprehensible to Asuna. It seemed as if the beast was cowering from them however, the massive canine was actually trembling.

"Hey." Asuna said to summon its attention. She did expect a response, what she didn't expect however was the beast leaping up on its feet, its fur on end and its teeth bared as it spun around to growl at Asuna. Asuna found herself jumping backwards in fright. The beast quickly stood down when it saw that it was Asuna but it didn't relax, not at all. Suddenly, instead of fright and aggression, outright fear and submission became evident in its eyes.

As if Asuna had been the grim reaper himself, the beast recoiled from her, the images around it suddenly beginning to increase in intensity. Around it the shapes appeared, more and more, seemingly increasing in size and volume both.

"Calm down." Asuna said now, stepping forwards as she tried to put a hand on the beast but she didn't manage to get there. Suddenly the images exploded around it and Asuna found herself standing in a tidal wave of sensations, images, scents, sounds and feelings. The bestial incoherence in the images seemed to run away the stronger the sensations became and bit by bit, with terrible, tearing certainty Asuna was flooded by one singular memory, one more intense than anything she had felt before.

"Aaaahhh!" the scream echoed through her, a scream filled with so much pain, so much horror and suffering, but most of all, so much guilt and self-hate. The scream seemed almost inhuman as Asuna found herself thrown to her knees from the sheer intensity of the scream. Quick, ragged breathing followed now, echoing, trembling breathing interspersed with sobs and incoherent mutterings. "What...." a voice said now, a hoarse, despairing voice filled with such soul-wrenching despair and horror it seemed as if all the fear and suffering in the world had been given one voice to cry out with. "What have I done!?" extending the last syllable, it was not a horrified cry of disbelief, instead an utter and complete realisation, a full comprehension, without even the boon of disbelief to veil the pain it gave. The mouth asked the question the face had already revealed the answer to.

The very air around her was now bleeding, large sores in the mist around her bled large, oozing rivulets of filth from them as a terrible wind whipped through everything around it, fire and dust following in its wake. The vertigo came like a tidal wave, throwing Asuna off her knees and to the ground. In this spinning, retching pandemonium, she saw the one who had cried. A robed figure, hunched over, with his hands gripping its hair so hard that she, even with the spinning and wrenching, could see it bleeding. Blood seemed to stream from every orifice of the man, his mouth, nose, even his ears and his eyes were bleeding, it was as if he was falling apart. But then the figure looked up, and inside this twisting inferno of sensations beyond what humans were truly meant to take, Asuna saw who it was with all possible clarity.

It was Negi. Despite the blood streaming down his face and head, despite the vertigo, she saw it was him. It wasn't the inhumanely beautiful Negi either, rather it was the handsome, but human Negi she had seen that first time. His face was wrenched in a mask of total despair and horror, his mouth wide open and a scream tore its way through it.

All clarity and calm was washed out of Asuna in an instant. It wasn't even the question of a gradual collapse, it was annihilated in no time, ripped apart by the primal horror evident on Negi's face

"Negi!" like she had screamed before, under Mahora that dreadful time not two weeks ago, she called out for him, praying for him to hear her. She couldn't stand up, not even on all fours, so all she could do was crawl, panic-stricken, towards him.

"Kotaro!" Negi screamed, his voice filled with despair as he looked around, a wild howl coming from somewhere as a massive monster landed in front of Negi. Yet it was not the beast that had followed Asuna these last few days. Instead, it was the monstrous, terrible thing called "Rage", the thing that had stood by Negi's side during that final battle. Walking on two legs, with a disproportionally bulky upper body and long arms with claws as long as its lower arms, with a massive maw filled with fangs and drool, this was nothing like the predatory grace of the beast that had followed Asuna, instead being a sickening parody of strength.

Negi now pulled himself up on his knees, his body seemingly boiling as he did so. It was twitching and jerking, almost like it was on the verge of total collapse. Asuna, who was still crawling towards him, finding herself unable to speak, saw what came next with a sense of abject horror. Negi stabbed the massive monster in front of him, his arm forming into a great spear that shot through the thing's body. A roar that seemed to shatter the very reality echoed through the world as the beast screamed. Tearing backwards, Negi twisted his body as he slammed the monster over his head and into the ground, the thing still roaring in pain. Crawling with jerking, graceless motions, Negi, still moaning and sobbing, crawled onto the thing's giant chest and straddled it before he begun to choke it.

The scene was a true nightmare. Negi, with his very body boiling, his teeth clenched in despair and with tears mixing with the blood running from his eyes and all other orifices, choked the thing with two massive hands, his hands having twisted to be able to even reach around the thing's neck. The massive monster, meanwhile, was bleeding profusely, his giant mouth opening and slamming shut with loud gurgling sounds coming from its throat. Meanwhile, all around them, the horrifying chaos was still raging like a tempest. Bleeding, screaming, twisting, reality had become insane.

Negi's arms pulsed, seemingly as if they were clinging like two giant suckers to the thing's neck, they seemed to pulse as they sucked the monster into Negi. Asuna, who was too shocked to do anything but to futilely keep crawling, was now panting, gasps coming from her as she crawled in panic towards him. No... not again, not again, she had to get to him!

The large monster was shifting now now, whatever Negi was doing to it made the monster change, its fangs and claws pulled back, its fingers melted together, it seemed to lose all coherence. Eventually Negi seemed to squeeze a large blob of black, oily liquid, the blob being squeezed together in one place by his hands. Then it burst. Exploding, the blob fell apart and out of it, revealed as the oily liquid ran away, was a black-haired young man in Negi's age, with dog ears. It was Kotaro! That beast had been Kotaro!

"Gah!" Kotaro gasped, still being choked by Negi. His voice was his own, the same hoarse one Asuna remembered. It felt like years since she had heard his voice. "Th' hell?" he continued, staring at Negi, shock evident in the eyes of a man who had just been released from slavery as something like that monster.

"What have I done Kotaro!?" Negi screamed, sobs ravaging him, "I did that! You saw what I did, I did that! "Negi was far beyond anything Asuna had seen before, such despair, such horror. Every fibre of Asuna's being wanted to go to him, to comfort him however she could. Any hesitation or eventual antipathy was cleanly wiped away, the horror evident in his eyes destroyed any ill will she could have felt. Yet no matter how much she crawled, no matter how much she tried to fight the savage vertigo she didn't even seem to come near him. She was helpless, unable to even get close to him.

"You won!" Kotaro groaned, his teeth clenched, "You fuckin' won! You killed a god! Ain't that worth it!?"

"No..." Negi said, his breath so ragged that it was hard to make out what he said. "Not to her, anything but what I did to her! She loved me! She loved me and I did that to her! I did that! To the girl who saved me!" Negi's voice was almost an incoherent mess of tears, sobs and hoarse yelling.

"Damn it Negi!" Kotaro croaked, "You've gotten it that bad? Let me go!"

"I'm sorry." Negi said now, still clenching his friend's throat. "But I can't. I can't leave her alone. They'll come for her, they'll come for her due to me! I took her from one death to another. Anything but knowing that's what I caused."

"Negi!" Kotaro yelled.

"I'm sorry Kotaro." Negi said again, "I can't do that. I'm sorry, I have to do this."

"Neg-uaaah!" Kotaro yelled as Negi clenched even harder, a pulse of energy going back into Kotaro's body. Kotaro shook, his arms flailing wildly.

"I'll do all I can for you." Negi said, "But she has to be safe, she has to live! I can't let her die! Protect her, if I ever could ask anything of you, protect her, her and what's coming! I beg you!"

Then Negi's back exploded. In a sudden shower of black liquids it burst like a balloon, Asuna seeing, to her horror, the sight of the massive sword her pactio with Negi had given her protruding out of the wound, impaling him. Yet Negi was still clenching, he was hyperventilating, the blood that had been a trickle from his mouth became a flood, but he still held on.

"I can't...." he whispered, "Damn it... help her... please" that was his last words before he fell forwards, his body falling apart into oily vapours that came to cover Kotaro for the faintest of moments. Then they exploded too. Like a dolphin breaking through the surface of the seas, a massive, proud beast shot out of the mist. Where the monster had been savage this beast was ferocious, where the monster had been a horrifying thing the beast was a primal predator. Instead of the abyssal monster, the three-tailed beast that now howled towards the seeming sky was the epitome of predatory grace and nobility. It howled, a howl of sadness, of loss and abandonment.

Yet for Asuna, the howl drowned in her own scream. Clutching her hands to her ears, Asuna had crawled into foetal position, screaming in shock and despair, not able to believe it. It wasn't over, it was never over, even after Negi's death his plans were still rolling. She, who in her emptiness had managed to draw some kind of conclusion that Negi's and her paths had been separate, had those conclusions thrown back into her face

Anything but what I did to her.

The girl that saved me.

I can't let her die.

Help her... please.

Asuna's shield of emptiness, the stillness that had protected her, was annihilated. It was torn to shreds, burnt to ashes and sent to swirl in the chaotic winds that raged all around her. Asuna's grief, abandonment, loss and loneliness returned in force, smashing its way through even the distance her mind had created to shield itself to it. Pain, suffering, torment, Asuna was filled with it. It choked her, it clutched its black fingers around her throat, squeezed the very air out of her lungs. It tore out her intestines with long, sharp claws, leaving only seas of blood and pain in its wake.

She was alone, deep in these mountains, devoured by a monster and now condemned to have her very soul eaten. The torment flooded Asuna, her grief making her unable to breathe as she flailed, digging her fingertips into the ground, her nails snapping as she dug through the gravel, something in her wanting to dig into the earth to vanish, to cease to be. It was a tidal wave, a tidal wave of utter and complete loss of will to live, and it sent her reeling even further as she kept screaming.

"Asuna!" somehow, through her screams, through the blinding, choking despair and through everything, she heard that deep, calm voice yelling her name. It was Takahata-sensei's voice, calling out to her, calling for her. Takahata-sensei, the man who had always been there for her no matter what. His voice was almost like a lifebuoy being thrown to the girl adrift in a raging, black ocean. Asuna felt how she, in that raging abyss of pitch-black waters wanting to drown her, how she got something, however faint it was, that could save her.

"_Please save me please save me please save me please save me please save me please save me please save me." _was suddenly the only thoughts Asuna could have in her head. She didn't want to drown, there was still some small part of her wanting to live, yet she was drowning, she was drowning so fast. She tried to hold onto the voice, but felt how her metaphorical grip started, bit by bit, to slip. The hungry waters of her soul-crushing despair tore at her, sought to devour her.

Then, with a warmth that nearly burnt Asuna's skin, two arms were wrapped around her. Encircling her and pushing her against a large, warm chest, Asuna felt the sudden closeness wash over her, the ragged breathing being caught in her throat. Her fingernails dug into the cloth covering the warm chest and she wailed, trying to somehow suck that warmth and calmness into her. With all her strength, she tucked herself as deep as she could towards the man, into him.

Unable to find any other refuge or solace, Asuna could only clutch onto the warmth coming from the man holding her, the soothing voice whispering calming words and the large hand running over her head. Even as she kept wailing she kept holding on, knowing that if she let go she would die.

"Negi..." she sniffed, trying to vomit out the word out of her. If she spoke his name enough times perhaps it would go away, being rejected from her body along with all the pain that word wrought. "Negi, Negi!" the word flooded out of her, being pushed out of her. More and more it came, she wanted to push it all out of her, get rid of all the pain that was coating her insides, like a thick slime. The sobbing turned to gasping, gasping turned to retching. Still consumed by her desire to push all the pain out of her, Asuna eventually threw up. Instead of the pain, it was the contents of her intestines that were violently expelled. However Asuna didn't even fully realize it, even as the reek of stomach acids filled her nostrils along with the burning sensations in her mouth, throat and nose.

And far away, upon a large cliff protruding out of the thick mist, like a black finger, a lone figure was standing. Wearing only tattered rags and having a filthy blanket wrapped around her shoulders, the woman held a red-bladed knife in one hand and was running it over the palm on the other hand, carving deep wounds into herself. Shivers went through her at each stab, yet not shivers of pain or disgust. The madness shone in her teal eyes and her long hair whipped around her like it was alive made her even more monstrous.

"A thousand lives, in your name," she muttered to herself, slicing through the flesh on her hand at every third word. At every cut the glow of embers shone through the flesh that was cut and steam rose from the wounds, blackened as soon as the knife lost touch with the flesh. "A thousand deaths, by your hands."

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A/N: Woo: exposition. Don't really have much more to say other than please review.


	11. The meeting

Chapter 11: The meeting

* * *

Takamichi soaked his pants in the water again, slowly rinsing the reeking puke out of it as well as he could. Thankfully, he had bought a spare pair in Nyandom and now he could clean up somewhat. Takamichi wasn't in the mood for thinking about his bloody pants however, what concerned him now was Asuna.

Takamichi didn't dare to hope that this was the end, it seemed as if he did that fate would inevitable spit on her again. They had woken up early the next morning when Asuna had started screaming. He had shot out of bed, only to see her wildly flailing on the ground, clawing at the gravel like she was possessed and screaming incoherently. Yet as soon as he had touched her Asuna had flung herself into his arms, incoherently sobbing Negi's name before she vomited all over his trousers.

After that the girl had returned to the distant state, yet this time it was a new kind of distant and Takamichi was only getting more and more tired of it. Asuna was currently sitting by the fire, Kagetarou doing his best to spoon-feed her some watered-down porridge. The girl seemed as if she had cracked, like even the barrier of coldness had broken inside her and everything that flooded out, sweeping all her strength with it as it did. She had become as lifeless and fragile as she had been cold. She sat apathetically by the fire, staring into it as if she was a doll.

It was... Takamichi was no expert on psychology, but the best way he could describe it was as if she had lost all strength. Everything that kept her together now seemed to be the fact that nobody touched her. The faintest wind seemed as if it could topple her, the faintest stress render her catatonic.

He didn't dare to wish for anything more. Any more travels would break Asuna, any more stress would be her undoing. As it was now she had to get somewhere safe, somewhere where she could rest. She needed a calm place now, a place to pick her mind together again. Takamichi realized that he had picked up a small rock and ground it to dust with his hand in frustration. A place of peace, and he was running around here, in the god damned Pyriths of all places!

What the hells was he meant to do to give her even a modicum of peace, sell his soul?

Either way, he was done with his pants and stood up, making his way up to the camp again. A few dozen feet up from the river the other three of the small group sat. Asuna was sitting on a log, wrapped in a blanket, her eyes empty and her fingers wrapped in small bandages. She had torn off almost every single nail when clawing at the gravel and the blood had streamed down her fingers. The bandages she wore now was the only thing they could have done for her. On her right side the beast lay, the animal looking as if it had let Asuna down or something, the misery evident in its posture. On the left side Kagetarou sat, the man gently manoeuvring the small spoon in his hand back and forth between her mouth and the small bowl of porridge.

At least she ate... Takamichi gave her a weary smile, even if she didn't look at him, and ran his hand along her cheek.

"That looks great Asuna-kun." he said kindly, "You're almost done." he probably sounded like a moron but these kind of small, gentle encouragements was all he could do for her right now. Asuna didn't even react though.

He gently sat down next to the beast, putting a hand behind its ear and beginning to scratch it. If only this damn mutt could perk up a little, animals usually had a positive effect on depression. Yet, he couldn't act annoyed towards this animal, it was only an animal after all. After some consideration Takamichi took Asuna's right hand and placed it on the beast's neck, hoping that the warm fur could grant some peace.

Asuna didn't seem to object, she let her hand remain on the beast and slowly ran it across the soft fur behind one of the ears. Takamichi couldn't help but being relieved by her actions. They remained seated like that, Kagetarou eventually finishing spoon-feeding her and rising up to wash the bowl.

"Well done your highness." he said quietly, softly rubbing her shoulder before he caught himself. The man glanced as Takamichi, who noticed his uncertainty. Takamichi nodded though, etiquette could take a hike as it was, Asuna needed people close to her now. Kagetarou bowed his head slightly and rose up. "I will clean this up and scour the surrounding areas." he said quietly, "maybe the resistance passes through here."

"Good idea." Takamichi said before he got up and took the now free place by Asuna's side. About five minutes later Kagetarou had left, disappearing with blinding speed as he moved to search the surrounding area. Asuna sat silently though, slowly petting the beast behind the ear. She took great care to use only her palm though, given the state of her fingers, and it was done with an almost sleepwalker-like attitude.

Takamichi thought that perhaps he should try to occupy her with something. It was a silly suggestion but after a while he cleared his throat.

"Have you... have you thought for a name for him?" he asked carefully. It was a strange thing to talk about given the circumstances but anything was better that she just sitting still, staring into nowhere. Asuna didn't answer though, the girl only keep looking into the fire. After a while Takamichi decided to try again.

"For the... the dog I mean." he said, hesitating before he gave the beast such a harmless title. Yet it was the best name he could find so that would have to do. Asuna still didn't answer though. Yet after a while of silence.

"Kotaro." Asuna said quietly, the beast perking up at the name, its head turning to look at Asuna and the mouth opening ever so slightly.

"It seems like he likes the name." Takamichi said, surprised by the dog's eager response. Didn't these things usually take weeks, to accustom dogs to a name?

"No." Asuna said, "It is his name, he is Kotaro. Negi's friend."

"_What?" _Takamichi found himself unable to answer Asuna's insane statement. Had she become crazy? This animal couldn't be Kotaro, even if he knew that the hanyo was a skilled shapeshifter he couldn't imagine something like this, to live in the shape of a beast like this. And his eyes, Takamichi saw only bestial instinct in them, nothing of Kotaro's wily intelligence.

"I'm not crazy." Asuna said, now beginning to speak a little more normally, if still subdued. "I... I saw a vision. Negi... when he died he took the taint away from Kotaro... he said..." Now Asuna fell silent, staring into the fire. Takamichi realized that she was shaking and quickly wrapped his around around her. "he said..." Asuna's voice quivered and Takamichi tried to calm her.

"It's okay Asuna-kun." he said soothingly, "I understand, his name is Kotaro."

"No!" Asuna almost yelled this, "I have to tell you..." she continued with a whimper, her voice becoming more and more stressed out, "Negi said...." she begun, a sob slipping out of her, "he said that I had to live. Anything but my death. Anything but what... what he did to me. he.... He told Kotaro to protect me no matter what. He turned him into that beast, but I don't think he meant it, he said he couldn't...." that was all Asuna could get out of herself before she broke down and begun to cry again. Takamichi gritted his teeth and he held Asuna close, gently rocking her as he comforted the desperately crying girl.

"There there..." he whispered, the words that meant nothing but were the only things he could say as comfort to her.

"I love him..." Asuna cried in pain, the girl trembling in his arms as she sobbed, "I love him... I can't take this.... I love him..."

Takamichi was unable to respond, still trying to get the images of Negi he had in his head into one coherent picture. The young man arriving at Mahora with serious eyes. The cold and angry young man who had verbally assaulted those high school students when his girls were harassed. The hard-working mage. The monstrous black mage out to destroy all. The desperate person with the rune blazing on his forehead, trying to undo what he had wrought and, when betting everything, managing to win in the end.

All Takamichi could do was to be quiet and let Asuna keep on crying and eventually, when she had cried herself to sleep, gently put her down and make what bed he could for her. As the girl lay by his feet, sleeping restlessly, but at least soundly, Takamichi looked at the beast... at Kotaro. Was this really Kotaro?

True enough, the eyes were kind of similar, Takamichi remembered that Kotaro had always had small specks of red in his yellow eyes. Nothing much, only barely there, but this beast had that as well. Checking the beast's neck, Takamichi found a scar going at the base of the neck up to the shoulder. Kotaro had been proud over that scar last time they had met. It seemed to support what Asuna had said, and it answered to the name too. Too many coincidences for Takamichi, it seemed as if Asuna was correct.

"So... Kotaro-kun..." he said quietly to himself, looking at the beast. There was nothing in its eyes that made it seem as if it understood what he said. Yet it... he... paid attention to Takamichi. "I guess neither of us can reconcile the Negi we saw with the one we knew... or the one he became." Kotaro only looked at him though, confusion evident on the beast's face. Now Takamichi smiled a little bit, a weary yet genuine smile.

"So, want to help me protect her, no matter what comes?" he asked, "If so, shake." he put up one hand in front of Kotaro and the massive beast immediately responded, putting a huge black paw in Takamichi's hand. A small chuckle escaped Takamichi.

* * *

Through one of the valleys that lay between the great mountains that made up the pyriths a squadron of small ships were flying. Five all in all, the ships were all light grey in colour and adorned with the heraldry of the Megalomesembric fleet. They were flying in wedge formation, soaring above a large forest of hardy black pine trees and throwing their shadows upon the deep green leaves. A small rumbling, almost imperceptible, could be felt in the earth below the fast ships, all of them light, agile strike craft. Moderately armed and lightly armoured, they compensated for it with speed and agility.

"_Watch your spacing Peregrine five,"_ a signal came from one of the ships, a telepathic burst that went from the lead ship to the one flying at the left end of the wedge. _"You're starting to break __formation."_

"_Roger that lead."_ a signal came from Peregrine five, _"compensating now."_ and soon the ship had sped up slightly, perfectly moving in synch with the other ships. Upon the bridge of the lead ship an officer in a decorated robe stood at the front window The man's sharp, hawkish face was contemplative as he looked down on the forest below the squadron.

"Has the scanners picked up anything?" he asked with a hoarse voice after a while, glancing back at one of the robed crewmen. Said man was sitting in front of a large, floating orb, holding his hands a few inches over the surface. Small shapes were dancing across the surface of the orb, creating a panel made out of pure light where numbers and letters were rapidly being displayed along with a 3-D map of the valley they were flying through. The latter was flickering intensely though, poor reception making the image incomplete and hard to read. The robed man's face flickered in the light from the console.

"Nothing sir." the robed man said eventually, "We still can't get a clear signal, best I've gotten this far is thirty percent reception. The background magic only seems to grow stronger the further we get into the mountains."

"No estimates whatsoever?" the hawkish man asked, provoking the man by the console to shake his head.

"No sir," the man said, "for all I can make out they could right on top of us."

The officer sighed at the man's words. He was right, they were flying blind through these mountains. As it was the scanners would be lucky to pick up ships, picking up individual people would be impossible.

The entire thing was absurd anyhow. Until now high command had aimed to stay out of the mountains as much as possible, yet now his squadron of strike craft was out here, patrolling some of the most dangerous places on earth without any way of actually pacifying the place. To make it all even worse they were out here alone, instead of supporting heavier ships as they were supposed to. This mission was like diving with sharks, dangerous and pointless.

"Do we have any contact with mission command?" he asked, looking to the other side and the communications officer who was sitting by another ethereal console. This man shook his head in response.

"Nothing sir." he said, "If we re-route all available power to the telepathic transmitter I might be able to sent a burst transmission though."

"That would be like yelling "here we are, come and get us" to everyone within twenty miles with the least magic sensitivity." the officer said. "Without a cruiser here I'm not..." whatever the man was going to say was interrupted when a bright flash shone in through the outside windows. A second later a loud boom echoed through the air, muffled but still loud. It shook the bridge and made the man stumble. "What the hells?!" the officer exclaimed as her regained his balance. "Status report!"

"Sir!" another crew member yelled. "Peregrine four just dropped off the grid!" the officer's face became a visage of shock before he threw himself against the window and peered as far to the left as he could. What he saw made him pale.

To his left, about a kilometre away and diagonally beside the ship, an entire strike craft was engulfed in fire. Blue, blindingly bright fires were raging all around it, as if it was a large bonfire. Yet even through the fires the officer could see that a large section of the ship's front was torn open.

"By the nine..." the man said, his mind freezing for a moment at the sight. What the hells had happened!?

"Sir!?" Someone yelled behind him but the officer found himself unable to act. They had done it... they had come into one of these mountain-living psychopaths' minefields! "Sir!" the voice yelled again, "Peregrine two just got hit as well! Some kind of metal spears!" the officer snapped back to attention as the scream echoed through the telepathic net.

"_...pierced th... ull!..burning.... heat is... syst... ailing!" _the desperate voice of the usually unflappable captain of Peregrine two snapped the commander back to reality.

"Evasive action!" he yelled, "All units, disengage, get out of here now!" It was the only thing to do, he knew enough about the mountain-tribes that they were most probably screwed already, only a quick dash away would be able to save at least some of them. Looking out of the window again, the commander was met with the sight of peregrine four with several large metal spears actually piercing its armour. Each of the spears was as long as the strike craft and seemingly two feet wide. They had punched cleanly through the vessel and were glowing white hot. Already Peregrine four was starting to fall towards the ground, its hovering buoys having given up, and Peregrine two was starting to reel as well. Two strike craft taken out in ten seconds, this was even worse than he had thought! Fear started to make its way into the man's heart now.

"Sir!" the scanning officer yelled, "I've got movement, tons of it! Below peregrine three!"

It was as the officer had guessed, while the enemy was pinned down in this minefield small groups of those psychos would come crawling out of the woodwork, moving to engage the ships too busy to look for other mines to shoot back at them as they tried top breach the ship hulls and capture them.

"Tell three to drop its payload, now!" he commanded, thankfully they had at least some surprises for the psychos.

"Yes sir!" a swift mental command echoed through the aether and soon, only moments later, peregrine three acknowledged and acted upon its command. A series of holes opened up on the belly of the ship and several glowing orbs were dropped from the ship. The blue-glowing orbs, each about three feet across, impacted with the ground and tore the forest apart. Large pulses of energy blasted the forest apart, sending shockwaves across the ground and ripping up a large hole in the forest.

With his heart still pounding, the officer couldn't help but smile as he saw the detonation. He'd like to see those madmen survive that. Three had gotten a few moments now at least. The smile froze only a second later. As if some cruel god had planned it; out the smoke created by the blasts several large, hooked spears shot, these attacked to long, heavy ropes.

In front of the officer peregrine three was captured, almost as if it was a giant animal. With immense speed the hooked spears shot over it and flew down on the other side. They didn't fall, they were propelled by magic to spin around the ship and being firmly wrapped and hooked onto it before anyone knew what had happened. The strike became wrapped in the thick ropes, large parts of its hull covered now. What was worse, the ropes started to be pulled back, something actually managing to pull the small ship down with brute force.

"Tainted hells!" the officer heard the scanning officer swear, "They're everywhere, the entire ground is boiling with movement!"

"Tell five to drop low-intensity payload and to sweep fire through our ground-level perimeter," the officer yelled, trying to improvise. They had to work together, by keeping the enemy out of their respective underzones, the areas under the ships, they might get out of here.."Gunners, ready to sweep theirs!"

"Yes si..." the men's affirmative was cut short when another explosion tore through the sky, this time right next to peregrine five. "Shit!" someone yelled as the other ship was obscured by fires and smoke. The officer had seen it though, a large, egg-shaped thing had shot out of the ground, coming to a stop right next to the ship before it detonated. GTS, Ground-To-Sky, mines, mines hiding in the ground and shooting up into the air whenever the enemy triggered it. But those things were high-tech! How the hells did these barbarians have that kind of stuff!?

Thankfully, peregrine five survived the detonation, it came into sight again, tumbling to the right from the explosion and with patches of its metal hull on fire, but still intact. Yet, the reeling was severe enough that the ship was sent crashing into the mountainside, impacting with a steep, high mountain wall.

Parts of the rock was smashed out of the wall as the heavy steel ship crashed into it, yet it was the stone, not the ship that took the worst beating. What came next, however, changed that. The entire mountainside gave away. Seemingly as if on cue, the over five hundred meters high wall gave away and was sent raining down upon the ship. Over four hundred meters' worth of huge boulders crashed down on the ship, sending it to the ground along with its kin and burying it in a deep grave of boulders, dust and gravel.

Upon the bridge of the sole surviving ship silence now reigned. They had all been taken aback by the massive collapse and unable to do anything but stare helplessly as their fellow soldiers were buried alive. The massive tidal wave of dust that had been kicked up, furthermore, hit the ship with devastating effect. Along with the dust came immense amounts of background magic and the entire ship died. Scanners, communications, engines, steering, everything except for the hovering buoys, was overloaded and died.

Inside the gigantic, grey cloud of dust the now blackened ship seemed like a tomb. Momentum meant that the ship was still flying but now it did so with eerie silence, no rumbling from the engine, no sounds, nothing. The men all looked around them, their heartbeats forming a chorus that to each solder seemed deafening, like the footsteps of a grim reaper that was coming at them at a full sprint. With the exception of the dimmed light coming from the window the darkness was as complete as the silence.

Then, chaos. The windows all around the bridge was smashed seemingly effortlessly. The inch-thick armoured glass cracked and was blasted inwards, raining over the bridge crew in countless, jagged shards. Amongst the six men on the bridge only the captain managed to parry the razor-sharp onslaught of glass with a spell, meaning that only he saw what came now.

With preternatural agility armed figures launched themselves through the window. In the chaos it was impossible to see from where they had come. They could just as well have come from below, having jumped all the way up to the ships, as above, having waited on top the ship all this time, and just as well straight on, having flown into the windows. No matter where they came from though, they were here.

A dozen figures all in all, their features hidden by the light streaming in from behind them. Only the eyes were even possible to see. Those eyes however, was already more than what the man, for one instance finding a moment of stillness during which he could perfectly see his attackers, wanted to see. They seemed to glow, an inhuman, merciless light shining in them. Spears were tightly gripped in their hands, spears with long, thick, elaborately decorated heads and with short leather bands with decorations at the ends dangling from the necks.

It was only for a single split-second, this moment of seeming stillness, a trick played on the man by his own mind, before the attackers were upon him and his crewmen. Flashing in the darkness, shimmering spears moved with immense speed and accuracy. The officer was impaled before he knew what had happened, one word ringing in his ears, a word screamed by each of the attackers. .

"Sylgja!" the hoarse cry, uttered with voices thick with blood-lust and utter lack of mercy, echoed through his head even as his vision went black and his life ended.

* * *

Kagetarou leaped up on the ridge with a swift instant movement, coming to overlook the valley beyond it. It was yet another valley, this one filled with trees. Expansive and wide, it seemed to be one of the more fertile one if the greenery present was any cue. Yet, What Kagetarou came to notice wasn't that. Below his mask his brow furrowed at what he saw in the large valley.

"Takahata-dono!" he yelled, looking backwards down the slope he had dashed across only a few seconds ago. About a hundred meters down that slope Takamichi was walking right next to the massive beast, Kotaro. Kagetarou had been told of the beast's true nature, something that had unsettled him deeply. What kind of mage had the power to fundamentally change a being? He had heard only whispers of what had happened at Mahora in the old world at first, however he had gotten the full picture from Takahata as he had told him of the princess' vision.

Said princess was now riding on Kotaro. Too frail to be able to walk on her own, the young girl was near collapse and Takahata had made the beast carry her. It had worked better than expected, the beast had enough intelligence to realize what was going on and had moved with the utmost care during the last two days, being as gently as it could to keep the girl on his back to stay there. All the tree of them were wearing an extra layer of clothing, having discovered that the winds here were merciless and that the temperature steadily dropped.

Takamichi looked up at Kagetarou as he heard him yell. Kagetarou pointed out across the valley on the other side of the ridge. Takamichi started to pick up the pace and got up within a minute. Well there he looked out across the valley as well.

Tell-tale signs of a battle were spread all over the valley. Large swathes of burned ground spread across the valley, sections of ravaged forest where the trees had been crushed, a massive rock-slide far away.

"Looks like we're getting close." Takamichi said as the best came up by his side, carefully carrying Asuna up on the ridge. Relief could be heard in his voice. They had journeyed for two days in the mountains, looking for whatever signs they could of the resistance. This battlefield was the only trace they had seen this far. Kagetarou wasn't too relieved though.

"If we an see this the bergafolk has most likely spotted us." he said, "Let us proceed carefully from here, I do not think they would hesitate to attack us." in Kagetarou's voice anxiety, not relief, was heard. The man did not relish what would come now, knowing the area was help the battle, any fighter worth his salt knew that, and this was the bergafolk's back yard. He couldn't help but feel they had entered a viper's nest.

"Still," Takamichi said "It's not like this journey was risk-free anywhere. Let's just get going, worrying won't help." With seeming impunity, Takamichi touched the giant canine beside him, motioning for it to follow him as he made his way down the ridge. Kagetarou was surprised by the man's fearlessness, the man seemed to not even consider any of the threats that lay ahead worthy of worrying about.

Kagetarou didn't know what to make of it. This courage, this... supreme confidence the men of the Crimson Wing showed, it was something not of this world. Weakened after his near death at the world gate, Takamichi now seemed to come into his true self, the titan who had stood by the thousand master's side. Yet again Kagetarou felt insignificant compared to this man, this giant. He hurried down the slope to catch up with Takamichi, feeling truly grateful for the man's confidence.

Takamichi, however, was wishing he could be as confident as he guessed he had seemed. There was only one way, forwards, so he tried to not hesitate needlessly, but that didn't mean that he wasn't nervous as well. He knew little to nothing about the bergafolk, one of the few things he knew was that Jack Rakan had many times talked about going into the mountains to test his skills against this people, thinking they'd be "a fun time". It was only the fact that he didn't know if they had any "good beer and hot chicks" which stopped him.

Rakan didn't have fun unless there was a real danger to his life and if his idea of a "fun time" was testing himself against these people... Takamichi got the feeling that this might very well be one of the most lethal situations he had ever been in.

Still no point in hesitating though which was why Takamichi kept going down the slope, glancing up to look at Asuna who sat limply on the back of Kotaro. Being careful and being fearful wasn't the same thing, delaying for no other reason than apprehension belonged in the latter category. Also, the sooner they reached the end of this journey the sooner Asuna could get some place to rest.

The four made their way down towards the forest that covered the valley below them, moving across the rocks with great care. Thankfully the ridge was quite low and therefore didn't lean that much. Asuna, who was still sitting on Kotaro's back, only barely clung to the beast's back. Had the ridge been steeper she would most probably fall off.

As they got down to the forest Takamichi couldn't help but be amazed by it. Almost all of the forest here consisted of black pine trees, a tree he had never seen before. The trees' gnarled roots crawled over the ground, weaving together and apart across the forest floor. On the ground the thick moss that lay on the ground and even on the many large rocks spread across the ground had created a thick, deep green, white and red carpet that gave way as they walked across it. The oily needles still on the trees created a glimmering roof above them, reflecting here and there in large globs of resin that had formed on the trees. The result was a dark forest that nevertheless glimmered in the sunlight. An ancient forest, primeval and raw. Not a lush paradise, but a true wildscape.

"Asuna..." he said quietly, touching the girl's knee where she rode on Kotaro beside him, "Look."

Asuna glanced up from Kotaro's back and looked ahead.

"Oh..." she said with a quiet voice before she looked down again, too broken to care about the sight before them. Takamichi gritted his teeth at this, desperately wishing they'd get there soon. Something in the back of his head taunted him, saying he didn't even know where this "there" would be. Takamichi pushed the voice down though and started to make his way into the forest, Kotaro carrying Asuna beside him and Kagetarou walking on the other side of the massive canine.

Making their way through the forest, the group was silent. The occasional shrill song of a bird was the only sounds that accompanied their journey, the thick moss making their footsteps inaudible. Takamichi found the feeling almost eerie, like walking in a dreamland. Part of him became worried by the silence given by the moss, it meant that it would be easier for anyone trying to sneak up on them. Glancing around, he couldn't see anything but that didn't mean they wouldn't be there.

Yet, with the massive Kotaro beside him he didn't feel too apprehensive, from what he had seen the senses of this animal was sharper than most natural beings'. Anything that tried to sneak up on it... him, would be given away swiftly. Combined with Takamichi's and Kagetarou's well developed sixth senses it shouldn't be an issue... hopefully.

"It truly is a magnificent place, this forest." Kagetarou said beside him, the shadow-user having something reverent in his voice. "I never expected to find a place like this in these mountains."

"I know what you mean..." Takamichi said quietly. Despite the strange black trees and their gnarled limbs, despite the harsh feeling of the forest and the globs of resin on the trees, the forest was still beautiful. Or perhaps it was because of it. The trees' needles seemed to almost glow and the resin globs occasionally sparkled. Takamichi found himself more and more fascinated by the forest.

Then they were everywhere. Out of nowhere, seemingly having stepped out of the air, dozens of men surrounded them. Above them amongst the branches, on the ground all around them, they appeared.

Takamichi started, adrenaline and fear surging through him as his hands instinctively shot down into his pockets. He found himself starting to mould kanka without thinking, shocked by what had happened. Beside him Kagetarou and Kotaro had both similar reactions. Kagetarou had both hands raised and had readied two shadow lances while Kotaro had hunched slightly, baring his teeth in and explosive growl. Only Asuna didn't react, the girl still sitting limply on Kotaro's back.

Yet the figures around them didn't move. They were clothed in heavy felt coats and trousers along with boots which were tied to their shins with long leather straps, clothes perfectly designed for enduring the cold winds here. The people around them were all veiled, wearing a felt cap along with a large scarf wrapped around their faces so only their eyes showed. In their hands, which were buried in felt gloves, heavy spears with adorned blades were gripped. All Takamichi could see of their bodies was their eyes, eyes that on each of the people around him seemed to glow with a predatory light.

For a few seconds things became still, neither of the two parties moved, the veiled men not budging and the small group of travellers still shocked and surprised by their appearance. Takamichi specially was tense, he hadn't felt a thing, not the faintest thing! And Kotaro... despite his powerful senses neither had he. By the fates.. what were these people?!

As if on cue, a mocking laugh came to echo through the forest, seemingly bouncing off the trees. Somewhere around them, none of them could place the sound, a person was laughing. A deep bass voice laughed at them, somewhere close but somewhere none of them could sense. Takamichi found himself looking around, sweat starting to appear on his brow. Behind him Kotaro slowly took a step back, sinking deeper down and being ready to pounce. Conversely, stepped forth slightly with his hands still raised.

"No, wait." Takamichi said, trying to calm down. These were the people they had come here to meet after all. Despite their foreboding appearance and the gleaming steel spears they carried, Takamichi knew this was the most positive development they had seen this far. He just hoped that the resistance really had allied with these people. Kagetarou glanced at him as he heard Takamichi's words, however he didn't protest. The man lowered his arms and Takamichi removed his hands from his pockets.

"I apologize for intruding on your lands, men of the bergafolk..." Takamichi begun before he was cut off. A pair of explosions ripped through the air right behind Takamichi and Kagetarou, shockwaves pulsing through the air as both the men struck backwards instinctively, one with his kanka and the other with his shadows. Both attacks had collided in mid air with something and the men both spun around, ready to strike again. But the massive presence that had suddenly exploded behind them was gone.

Then it appeared again, right beside them, Takamichi's head snapped to the side only to see something vanish in a blur of motion. He could follow the movement but only just as whatever it was dashed to the side, then upwards, then right next to Kotaro, who roared as he snapped to the side only to clamp his jaws around air. Back, forth, up, down, left, right, the shapeless figure kept dashing and Takamichi could only just keep up. Kagetarou wasn't able to do even that and had ended up staring in all directions, as had Kotaro.

After a good while of the cat-and-mouse game that had started the figure dashed high into the treetops and this time stayed there, Takamichi, whose heart was pounding, first now getting even an unclear look of the figure. Hunched over on a branch high up amongst the trees, a shape was now standing. Takamichi couldn't determine even if it was human, the shadows it hid in obscuring everything that would have identified it. Yet he could feel the eyes, whoever, whatever, this was, he was powerful, the gleaming eyes spoke of great power.

"This is the first time..." a heavily accented voice, the one that had laughed, said from above, a glee was present in its voice, an almost sadistic such. "The first time one can follow my movements. So who are you? Champions sent by your masters to kill us? Are you here to pray for mercy with that girl as an offering? Speak!" the figure now snapped, his voice like a hammer, "You've earned that at least, you'd be dead had you not managed to follow me."

Takamichi found himself almost choking on the bile that welled up inside him at what the figure had said about Asuna, yet he pushed it down, knowing that it was now or never.

"We are neither." he said, trying to calm down. Idly he noticed that during this entire event the people still surrounding them hadn't even moved an inch. "We came here to bring this girl to her people, the Vespertatians, who fled to these mountains." he indicated Asuna, "There is no way that they'd be able to live in these mountains without your knowing, would you tell us where we can find them?"

"Haha!" the figure laughed, "So you've come all this way, into these mountains, to bring _that _to them? A limp little doll who doesn't even notice we're here!?" the figure burst into laughter again and now the other men joined him, a low murmur of chuckling spreading around them. "Stop lying." the figure suddenly said, the laughter dying in a second and the tension rising again, "You'll need something more convincing before..." after this the figure fell silent for a second. "Lift her face." the figure said, his voice more subdued, "Let me see her features."

Takamichi decided to oblige, a faint hope starting to spire in him at the man's tone. Gently taking Asuna's jaw in his hand, he coaxed her head upwards, giving the figure a look of her features.

The man now said something in another language, Takamichi couldn't understand it but it sounded like a curse. Snorting, the figure looked away from Asuna before he yelled something. This time the men all around them reacted, they stepped back, mirroring the movements with which they had appeared, and suddenly they were gone again. No blurs of motions, no discharges of magical energy, they just vanished. All but one. A lone figure standing on a branch above them remained.

"This is Kaun." the shadowed figure said as the sole remaining of the veiled men leapt down from the branch, landing in front of them with superb agility, "He knows your language and he'll take where you need to go. Now go, these places aren't places for you." Kaun pulled down the scarf covering his face and revealed a face much younger than any of them had expected, he seemed to be below even twenty years old. Despite his youth, however, his face was weathered and worn and had a grim look on it. That, coupled with the large, red tattoo of what looked like a dog-animal of some kind that covered one of his cheeks gave him a truly unnerving aura. Looking up again, Takamichi saw that the figure on the branches had vanished as silently as the other men.

"The lowlanders are to the east." Kaun said as he pulled the scarf down, his voice extremely hoarse. Takamichi couldn't help but notice that scar that started on his chin and went downwards. The throat was hidden but Takamichi got a feeling that the scar would be covering the throat as well. "One week from here, " the young man continued, "Can you windwalk?"

"Windwalk?" Takamichi asked, not knowing what the word meant. Kaun nodded before he relocated back up to the branch again in a blur of motion.

"Windwalk." he said as an explanation, Takamichi understanding they meant what he called shundo.

"We can." Takamichi said, "But I'd rather do that, the girl won't be able to hang on." he indicated the limp Asuna again.

"Tie her there." Kaun offered as he got down again and pulled a leather sheath over his spear, "The masked one has ropes around his wrists, use them." he said as he fastened the sheath to the neck of his spear with a leather string. "With windwalk it will take one day, otherwise a week. If we can't run from the beasts we'll have to fight them. Is that better?"

Takamichi thought to himself that it seemed like the bergafolk didn't like to mince words. Looking towards Kagetarou he silently asked the man the question. Kagetarou looked down at his shadow bands and eventually nodded. Walking over to Kotaro, he gently took Asuna's hand and begun to wrap it in the bands. Speaking soothing words to the girl, he carefully tied her to Kotaro's back, her legs and arms being thoroughly wrapped along the sides of the animal. She ended up lying down on the beast's back, her torso tied against the fur as well. The girl didn't even seem to notice though, sinking deeper and deeper into apathy with every passing moment.

"Don't worry Asuna." Takamichi gently said to the girl as she lay on Kotaro's back, almost like a slab of meat. "We'll let you off there soon." He wondered what in the fates he was doing to her as he turned around and looked at Kaun. "Let's go." he said and Kaun nodded.

"Follow me." he said, turning around and beginning to run into the forest. Takamichi, Kagetarou and Kotaro all followed the man as he went from a slow run to a super speed dash, flying through the forest and going east, deeper into the mountains.

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A/N: So, yeah. New chapter and now I intro one of my biggest projects in this fic. Just to clarify, the Bergafolk are completely made up by me and not in any way affiliated with Akamatsu Ken or Negima. I hope they'll fit well into this world though and as always. Let me know if something doesn't work.


	12. Heart of the mountains

**Chapter 12: The heart of the mountains**

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Led by the grim young man who they had been told was named Kaun, Takamichi, Asuna, Kagetarou and Kotaro made immense progress through the mountains. Thus far they had been moving slowly, trying to avoid getting lost and struggling with the bizarre geography of the mountains. With Kaun, however, they moved at a constant dash.

The young man was tougher than anything any of them had seen before; the pauses they had taken had been due to their exhaustion, not his. What more, during these pauses Kaun had, without a word, leapt up into a tree or on a nearby rock to keep a lookout. Takamichi wondered what kind of people these mountains produced as he took a swig of water from the pouch Kaun had silently given him when they stopped for the third time.

More and more the grey-haired man had started to feel his age, his entire body was aching and he hoped they'd arrive at their destination soon. Yet he didn't complain, it wasn't he that was tied up like a sack and lying on the Kotaro's back. During each of the pauses he had immediately gone to check that Asuna was okay. It made him sick to see her lie there. Even though Kotaro had moved with all the care and carefulness of a she-wolf carrying one of her pups the journey was still trying both for Asuna and for Takamichi, who had to endure the sight of her bound there.

Currently they were sitting on the top of a large ridge, the air cold enough that they could see their own breath. Kaun was a few meters away, looking towards the south after something unseen, while Takamichi and Kagetarou sat down on a pair of large rocks below the actual peak of the ridge, Kotaro lying down beside them. Far in the west the sun was beginning to set, Takamichi estimating about one more hour of daylight.

The further they got into the mountains the more Takamichi had realized how deadly they were. Already, on three different occasions, they had nearly stumbled upon different monsters. First time a massive dragon had flown over them, Kaun telling them to get down and just let it pass. The two other times it had been packs of the large, winged and tiger-like rivaren dragons, both times the group had had to outrun them. There hadn't been any more mist though, thankfully, but the mountains were really every bit as confusing as Kagetarou had said, many times Takamichi had been certain they were going in circles but Kaun seemed to simply plow through all the confusion and misdirection the mountains possessed, expertly navigating them.

"Get up." they then heard Kaun's voice as the young man came down towards them, his voice muffled by the scarf he had pulled up to warm his face. "The mist is starting to form. We must get to it soon."

"Get to the mist?" Kagetarou asked as the group all got to their feet. Kaun nodded.

"To get to your people we have to mistwalk." he said, not offering any more explanation to what mistwalking was, "Follow me closely, I lead the way." With that he turned around and started to walk up to the top of the ridge again, the others following him, Takamichi by Asuna's side, gently telling the girl they'd be there soon.

As they got up in the ridge Takamichi was met with the sight of a large, verdant valley several hundred meters below them, the greenery being evident even as the mist were settling in the valley. Even after only a few days here in the mountains Takamichi couldn't help but feeling somewhat apprehensive at the sight of the mist. That they were heading straight into them only reinforced his impression of the bergafolk as fearless and almost inhuman in their grim determination.

Kaun led the way down the slope towards the mist, now walking slowly. The young man stopped every now and then to look around. As they slowly approached the mist Takamichi could swear he felt a small, tingling sensation in his neck, no doubt caused by the magic-laden mist. The man now noticed that Kaun had stopped, the young man taking deep breaths as he stared ahead into the mists. Takamichi followed suit and watched as a murmur rose from the young man as he begun to chant something. Takamichi didn't understand what he said but it seemed like some form of prayer. He was holding his spear vertically in front of him, with both hands clenched around it and the butt of the spear steadily hammering against the rock he stood on. After about a minute he stopped, lowering the spear to his side and motioning for the rest of the group to follow him. They slowly entered the mist, the ephemeral tentacles reaching around them and swallowing them.

Takamichi silently watched their guide as he, at regular intervals, stopped to recite the prayer again, the pounding of his spear accompanying it. Between these moments he walked slowly, deliberately. It seemed as if even he feared the mists, or at least was careful when they were concerned. Takamichi was uncertain if that reassured him or made him even more unsettled. On one hand it made the bergafolk seem at least a bit human, on the other it only made the mists seem even more dreadful.

Kaun kept up the regular pounding of the spear and the slow chanting as he proceeded, his movements getting an almost ritualistic tone to them. Takamichi realized that the mists had to mean a lot to this people. To walk like this, through the mists, was a great feat no doubt and it would be strange if they didn't consider it a magical, perhaps even religious, thing to do.

It was impossible to tell how long they were in the mists, it was like walking in a dream. Things seemed to flow together, like blots of paint flowing together, becoming one large, grey smear upon reality. Takamichi touched Asuna where she rode on Kotaro's back, wanting to keep her close.

Eventually the mists started to disperse as they got out on the other side of the mist-bank. Well there Takamichi immediately saw that they were not in the valley they had entered. Instead they were right by a small lake, in a field littered with trees and rocks, which was flanked on all sides by massive cliff walls. Yet what they noticed most of all was the large city only a few kilometres away from them.

Amazingly, in these mountains there was a genuine city, one easily large enough to accommodate several thousands of people. The city was unlike anything Takamichi had seen in the magic world before, covering the valley almost like a blanket draped over it with the mountains rising all around it. In the middle of the city, Takamichi could see a large ziggurat, a massive pyramid-like building that rose towards the sky, creating a large, brick plateau in the middle of the countless smaller buildings. The entire city was greyish-red, built out of brick and mortar, and Takamichi was amazed at the sight of the many towers, smaller ziggurats and spires he could see. He never would have expected the bergafolk to create something like this.

"Othila" Kaun said as he looked towards the city, starting to walk without another word. Behind Takamichi Kagetarou released Asuna from the ropes, the girl no longer having to be tied down. He pulled up her hood as he made her sit up again, leaving only a pair of ropes to hold her legs along the sides so she wouldn't fall off.

As the group made their way towards the city Takmichi noticed a group of children by the lakeside, at first thinking they were playing but being shocked when they came closer. The children were fighting, with knives in their hands they were standing in pairs, circling each other as they tried to nick each other with their weapons. The children didn't look to be much more than about ten years old, yet they moved with speed and aggressiveness as they circled each other with bare upper bodies. Walking amongst the children was a pair of old men with white beards, each holding a stick in their hands as they screamed out orders to the kids.

Appalled at the sight, Takamichi felt his stomach knot when he saw one of the children drop her knife. One of the old men who had been watching over the fights walked up to her and slapped her across the face with enough force to send the girl to the ground with a cry of pain. More blows followed at the girl's scream as the old man roared something to the girl, who crawled over to her knife and quickly picked it up, the beatings not stopping before she stood up again.

Kaun must have noticed Takamichi's outrage for the young man spoke up at this. "They learn to never drop their weapons and to never acknowledge pain." he said, "Weakness kills you, our children cannot be weak."

Takamichi was disgusted by the violent logic, feeling anger rise in him as he watched the girl starting to fight again, moving sluggishly now after the heavy blows. He suddenly realized that he was trembling with anger. Yet he stopped himself from doing anything rash, turning away from the sight and walking towards the city again.

The large city was surprisingly openly built, the streets being wide and accessible where they stretched between the high walls of the brick buildings, buildings decorated with different artworks. The streets were teeming with people. Many of them were bergafolk but Takamichi saw many who had to be Vespertatians as well. Takamichi came to notice the many discrepancies of the city where he walked through it. The tone of the city seemed like two parts merged into one, one part grim and foreboding, the other warm and inviting.

Every now and then an open area of some sort appeared, giving the city a new face, be it small markets or whatever appeared, yet even here a grim tone was present. In one of the open areas, one shaped much like an amphitheatre, a large crowd had gathered. They were watching as two large dog-animals, with skin seemingly like rock and with huge, excavator-like jaws, were being incited against each other. The sharp barks of the dogs, the roar of the crowd and the splashes of dark blood easily spotted against the pale grey sand created a loud cacophony of impressions that made Takamichi feel even queasier.

Yet, it was as they came closer to the giant ziggurat that the most horrifying thing came. Walking along one street, Takamichi and the others came upon what seemed like a parade. The crowd along the streets parted and rushed to the sides as a large procession made its way along the street. At the front a group of musicians were walking, playing a harsh, pounding melody on drums and flutes. After that a trio of elaborately dressed people, with large helmets adorned with feathers and jewels, were walking, holding their hands to their chest and chanting. The middle man held a large, glowing knife in his hands, the knife shining with a reddish tint in its steel surface. After them, two men walked, strewing flowers along the ground and after them a lone man walked, his hands chained and his body unclothed except for a loincloth. The man held his head low and was escorted by four armed men, each of them holding a large axe.

Takamichi had seen many cultures in his days and knew much of the ways of different peoples. He realized what it was in a second, a human sacrifice. More and more he began to feel outright apprehensive about this. Obviously the Vespertatians had allied with them, but that they had joined forces with a people like this? Takamichi had a heavy lump in his gut as he approached the giant ziggurat.

The ziggurat itself was a marvellous construction, consisting of a base that seemed almost half a kilometre wide and twenty meters high. A large set of stone stairs led up to the plateau, where about fifty meters onto it a new plateau appeared, this one shooting another twenty meters into the sky. Reminding Takamichi slightly of the lower half of a pyramid, it dominated the cityscape. With walls lining the sides of each plateau, circular, stout towers in every corner and with countless engravings, paintings and carvings along the walls, the ziggurat was as magnificent a building as Takamichi had ever seen.

Walking along it, he noticed now several themes seemed to repeat themselves in the decorations. A man plunging a spear into a corpse, a woman with a gloria around her head holding her arms out around a group of small, naked figures, the colour teal was present in many places as well, often on the clothing of seemingly prominent figures. The artwork was exquisite, very detailed and with many, smaller details. Takamichi found himself wondering how old this building was and how many years its construction had taken.

As they reached the third plateau Takamichi saw that the fourth stair was guarded by armoured soldiers. Unlike Kaun they were wearing heavy plate armour and carried large spears that seemed more like sword-staffs. What more, they were wearing helmets modelled to look like the heads of rivaren dragons, making them seem almost inhuman. Kaun, however, didn't break his stride and headed towards the men.

As he drew near the men stepped out, blocking his path with their glaives. A sharp command from one of the men made Kaun stop and pull down his scarf to reveal his tattooed face. He didn't say a word but the sight of his face made the men stand down at once, lifting their glaives and saluting him by pounding their armoured fists against their chest plates.

"Come." Kaun said as he walked past the men, up the stairs. Takamichi was amazed when he could actually see a slight nervousness in the body movements of the heavily armoured men as Kaun passed them by. Something made him guess that Kaun was not quite a normal warrior. The top of the ziggurat was obviously forbidden for most people to visit, yet Kaun had been allowed access merely by showing his face. That spoke of a high standing, perhaps he was nobility?

However it was with that Takamichi and the others followed him up the fourth and final flight of stairs, arriving at the top of the ziggurat and being met with the sight of a large temple-like building with decorated obelisks surrounding it. The building was the only thing there, covering the top with a large, block-like building which was in and of itself impressive enough to have been the centrepiece of the city. However high upon this pyramid-like ziggurat it became the crown of the city .

"The Temple of Sun and Moon," Kaun said, motioning for the main building, "The matriarch will be here. I'll show you." Without waiting for an answer yet again Kaun set his heading for the temple building and the group following him. As they drew close Takamichi could hear the sound of drums and flutes playing, the same melody as the sacrificial procession had played. He now got apprehensive about entering the temple dedicated to the kind of bloodthirsty old gods he had never managed to stomach. He had nothing here to do, he would pay no subservience to those kind of beings that drank their followers' blood to satiate themselves.

Yet, a quick glance to the side at Asuna's limp form convinced him that he had to do it. Anxiety started to grow in him as he thought about what lay ahead. Asuna needed help but would this really be for the best? This limp, nearly dead girl wasn't what this people would be expecting in a princess, and he feared that Asuna would be the one to suffer.

Entering the large temple, Takamichi was met with a wide, open room, with pillars supporting the roof, where he could see hundreds of people kneeling. Torches and basins filled with burning coals lit the temple and cast flickering shadows on the walls. The kneeling crowd were all facing a large altar standing on a raised section of the floor, behind which an old woman was standing, chanting something as she held a decapitated bird of some sort over the altar. Her husky, cracking voice rose and fell in disquieting, terrible chant to some dark deity of this people's as her hands were wringing the bird's neck, forcing blood to run down on the altar. Kaun stopped now, bowing his head towards the altar and going down on one knee.

It seemed as whatever ceremony was being performed was over, for the woman cast the bird aside and stepped back from the altar, the kneeling crowd getting up.

"What is happening?" Kagetarou asked their guide slowly as Kaun got up from the floor.

"The matriarch opens the gateway to the underworld." Kaun said with a quiet voice, "The man you saw being led through the streets was a for lorad, a warrior who dishonoured himself too deeply to ever regain his honour. He chose to enter the underworld and be remade by the gods rather than to shame his family further. Animal blood is spilt to hasten him on his path when the seers end his life." Takamichi blinked at the revelation, had that man chosen to die in that manner? A sinking feeling appeared in his gut now, along with a feeling that he might just have misjudged this people somewhat. Yet, the image of the beaten child was fresh in his mind and he did not quite abandon his newly-formed estimate.

As the songs in the temple died and the crowd left it Kagetarou and Takamichi looked after them in surprise. They had not seen the man being dragged to the altar, but they were already leaving? Kaun noticed their confused looks and explained.

"Only the priests are allowed to be present when a warrior enters the underworld," he said, "Were he a criminal, a for tappad, they would have stayed, but a warrior dies alone. The others have done what they could for him, now he must die alone."

"I see..." Kagetarou said quietly. The man slowly nodded, seemingly understanding what they meant. It seemed to Takamichi that the shadow wielder could come to terms with the bergafolk's ways easier than he could.

"Let's go," Kaun said now, "the matriarch will be expecting you." Takamichi nodded, yet he took the time to take Asuna down from Kotaro's back, supporting the girl to walk beside him. Kaun led them further into the temple and past the elevated altar to a wooden back door that lay right behind it. Takamichi winced as they walked past the beheaded poultry that lay on the floor next to the altar, small pools of blood forming under the birds. Asuna, however, didn't even seem to notice. She probably really didn't notice them either.

Kaun knocked on the door, which opened to reveal a man clothed in the same kind of clothes that the priests in the procession had worn. Kaun bowed his head and showed the group to the man, saying something with a humble voice. The man looked at Takamichi and the others, his eyes falling on Asuna, and stepped back, motioning for the group to enter. Without a word, the group entered with the exception of Kaun, who turned around and left without a word, having completed his orders.

Inside, the group saw a smaller room, a decorated chamber that never the less was quite big. The walls were filled with paintings and the far end of the room held some kind of throne. Roughly on the middle of the room a small group of people were sitting around a small table, talking about something. Four all in all, Takamichi recognizing one of them as the old crone who had presided over the ceremony.

The man in the colourful clothes stepped forwards now and said something as he bowed, making the group turn towards them. Upon the sight of Asuna a look of shock spread over two of the people's faces. The first man to look surprised was a one-eyed man, seemingly a few years younger than Takamichi. Yet it was the second person that was the biggest surprise. Surprise was evident on his face as well, but that was nothing compared to what Takamichi felt. It was like he had gotten a kick in the gut. The man sitting right there, with a long, angular face, a pair of small spectacles, back-combed hair and that calculating look in his eyes, was someone he knew! It was his peer from his time with the crimson wing, the other boy the travelling band of adventurers had picked up! It was Kurt Godel!

"Takahata Takamichi..." compared to Takamichi, who still was reeling, Kurt had only gotten a satisfied look on his face now, the surprise vanishing in an instant. Getting up from the heavy wooden chair he was sitting at, he fired off one of the characteristic confident smiles Takamichi still could remember well. The old crone and the fourth person, a man seemingly as old as the woman he sat next to, were only watching the scene with bemused calm and the one-eyed man having gotten up as well, surprise still on his face.

"Lady Sylgja." Kurt said now, turning to look at the old crone and the old man, "Lord Haengr, if you wouldn't mind, could we perhaps continue this discussion at a later date?" he asked with a bow, "As you can see something quite astonishing has finally happened." he indicated the group that just had shown up.

A dry cackle rose from the old crone as her face, a face adorned with a large teal dragon tattoo, split in a wry, wicked smile.

"Very well." she said, seeming like an old vulture perched on the chair, swinging her head to look at the group and Asuna in particular. "I look forwards to see where this will lead. We speak tomorrow, at noon." the way she said it made it clear that it wasn't a request or offer. Pushing herself off the chair and getting up with the help of a gnarled walking stick, the old woman hobbled out of the room, followed by the man, who only nodded towards Kurt in respect before he left.

When the two had left, Kurt turned towards Takamichi again and smiled.

"What a coincidence, wouldn't you say?" he said with a pleasant smile, "Please, have a seat." He indicated the chairs, "All of you. And not the least of all, it's a greater honour than I can readily put in words to finally see you again, your highness." Kurt said, now bowing deeply and formally to Asuna.

"Indeed." the one-eyed man said as he came up next to Kurt, following suit "The news of you still being alive was a greater blessing than we had even dared to dream of." Asuna didn't move at all though. If the girl had heard any of it she didn't show it and instead only stood still, staring down into the floor. Kurt seemed to notice this, for he got a slight furrow on his forehead.

"Your highness?" he asked, Takamichi taking this opportunity to speak up.

"If you don't mind." He said, "A... a lot of things happened on our way here." He eventually said, not knowing exactly how to explain all what had taken place. "I'll answer whatever you want to know, but can we get somewhere for her to sleep first?"

"Of course." Kurt said with a nod before he snapped his fingers. The man who had opened to door for him stepped forth now and Kurt said something in the language Takamichi had heard these people talk. Indicating Asuna, he told the man something with a demanding tone in his voice. The man bowed at this and Kurt nodded. "This man will show you to her quarters." He told Takamichi.

"I'll take her there." Kagetarou said quietly and Takamichi nodded.

"Take Kotaro with you as well." He said. Soon Asuna, Kagetarou and Kotaro had all left the room and Takamichi was the only one left along with the one-eyed man and Kurt. Kurt had lost his smile now and seemed annoyed if anything. He sat down again and motioned for Takamichi to do the same.

"Okay then." He said, "It's nice to see you and all Takamichi but we'll have to catch up later. Sit down and take it from the beginning. And also: this is Admiral Takeda Akira," Kurt indicated the one-eyed man, "leader of the resistance."

"And where is the beginning?" Takamichi asked as he sat down and reached for his packet of smokes. To his disappointment he only had one left. That didn't stop him though and he lit it.

"Two months ago." The one-eyed admiral said. "We were contacted two months ago by an unknown individual who claimed that the princess of the royal family we thought had been wiped out was in fact still alive. Whoever it was, that person sent along photographic evidence. We sent out our best man, codename "Shadowguard" to take her in. Now you show up with the princess, Shadowguard is nowhere to be seen and while the princess is alive, thank the sun, she seems traumatized. What happened?"

Takamichi sighed now. It seemed as if they'd be here for a while if that was what they wanted to know.

"It's a long story." He said, "Two months ago..." That had been a few weeks after Asuna had come back for Kyoto, wasn't it? Two months? Had it only been that long? It felt like a lifetime.

Takamichi told the two men an abridged version of all that had happened, doing his best to summarize the cataclysmic event at Mahora and what had followed, how they had fled Mahora and run across both worlds trying to escape the Megalomesembrians, the haunting of Asuna's past and every event up to them meeting the group of bergafolk in the forest.

It was a long story even there though and Takamichi felt how exhausted he was. More and more he felt like sleep was a very good idea. Yet Kurt and Takeda didn't show any signs of planning to let him go. The two men listened to his story with grim expressions on their faces. Takamichi could read Kurt somewhat and saw that the man was disappointed and angry, yet where those feelings were aimed he did not know. Takeda on the other hand showed nothing, the man's face being an impenetrable iron mask.

When Takamichi was done Kurt leaned forwards, clasping his hands in front of him. His long, angular face got a grim look on it as

"This..." he said quietly, "Was not what we needed." the admiral seemed to echo the sentiment, having put his head in his hands, the fingers slowly running through his hair.

"Of all the scenarios..." the man said. "I'm lost Kurt, what would you say is the best bet?"

"She has to recover." Kurt said with his eyes closed and his voice thoughtful, "We won't be able to keep it under wraps for long though, the bergafolk gossip like old women. Haengr is our best bet, he'll have to dig her out one way or another."

"Hold it here..." Takamichi said, "What are you talking about?" Kurt looked up at Takamichi. Leaning back, the man put one hand on the table and started to softly drum his fingers against it.

"What do you say Takeda? Can we trust him with this?" he asked and Takeda nodded.

"We have to." the admiral said, "It's easy to see that whatever will happen with the princess you are the person who are the closest to her sir Takamichi. We need you as much as you need us. Take it away Kurt."

"The resistance is on the verge of a total collapse." Kurt said matter-of-factly. "The men might be fed thanks to our alliance but they have fought a losing battle for ten years, ten years that started with the annihilation of the royal family, the single most important part of Vespertatian identity. We might have managed to survive, but that's largely it. We're massively outgunned, outmanned and more or less trapped in the mountains. Our alliance with the bergafolk, furthermore, is teetering on the brink of collapse. The woman you just saw leave is the supreme ruler of the bergafolk and she doesn't like sharing power with people of lesser status, people like me and the admiral. The girl you brought us could avert all that, but not if she's impossible to reach."

Takamichi almost felt like he wanted to scream. This couldn't be happening! Of all the possible scenarios this would happen. He looked at the two people sitting in front of him. His old friend, the bespectacled swordsman, and the leader of the Vespertatians, the one-eyed admiral. Suddenly Takamichi felt like the two men he looked at were his enemies. These men wanted to use Asuna as a figurehead to bring order to the fractured resistance, something that would only add strain to her already broken soul.

"It seems like we have a problem then." he said. Takeda nodded now.

"To say the least." he admitted. "But there's one thing that might just work for us."

"And what is that?"

"Haengr." Takeda said, "He was the old man that just left. Haengr is the spiritual leader of the bergafolk, the high seer, and he's a master in the healing arts, especially the mind."

"Healing the mind?" Takamichi asked. He knew of that. Or rather, he knew what a immensely bad idea that was to try to accomplish with magic. The mind was so incredible complex that the role magic could play was limited at best without risking massive and permanent damage to it. Kurt put his fears to rest however.

"Do not worry Takamichi, he does not accomplish it via invasive spells," the man clarified, "The man has a... well I suppose gift is the best word, he senses the roots of peoples' suffering and draws it out. I didn't believe it either first time I saw it but he knows what he does."

"What kind of gift?"

"That I cannot explain." Kurt said, "The bergafolk's blood is littered with different kinds of magic gifts. They are more or less their own species as it is, a powerful such. Haengr is more or less a living saint to these people, he's said to have the blood of Harskarinna Sol, the sun-goddess and supreme ruler of the gods, in his veins."

"So you think he can help her?" Takamichi asked. He felt a bit better now. That Asuna could get help was all that mattered to him. Kurt didn't say anything though.

"I don't know." he said after a while. "I have seen him deal with the grief of people who've lost their life partners and warriors whose shame became unbearable, but never something as bad as this if what you are saying is anything to go by."

"Is that a reason we shouldn't try it?" Takamichi asked and Kurt shook his head.

"Too much is as stake for that." he said as he pushed up his glasses, "Both for you and for us."

* * *

The old man was a withered, hunched over figure with leathery skin, squinting eyes and a long beard. On the side of his face a deep blue tattoo of a viskaren was coiling, starting above the left eyebrow and going down along the side to end somewhere inside the long beard. He wore heavy green robes with elaborate embroidery on and a blue, gold-rimmed sash worn diagonally over his chest and horizontally over his hips. The thick fur hat he wore gave him almost comical proportions as it was nearly two times as big as his head. Supporting himself on a black walking stick, high seer Haengr was not a very impressive figure. Unlike the withered, crone-like matriarch the man did not radiate strength or determination, instead seeming to be nothing but a tired old man.

"Thank you for coming so quickly lord Haengr." Kurt said as he bowed to the small man that had appeared inside the doorway.

"Yes," the man said with a tired voice, "But next time, let me know a little faster if I am needed. I was all the way down the stairs when your messenger got hold of me and at my age the steps are pretty troubling."despite the man's words, there was a joking gleam in his eyes. He did not seem to have taken offence at all.

"I will." Kurt assured him as he gestured for him to step inside. "Please, this way." Haengr obliged and stepped inside the room, the retainer following him doing so as well. The building the room was in lay upon the second highest tier of the ziggurat. It was here that Asuna had been taken, the girl currently sitting with her legs to her chest in the alcove of one of the windows. The girl was looking out of the window, not responding to anyone but Takamichi and even then only barely.

Haengr stepped inside, his staff gently pounding against the hardwood floor, thudding as he passed over the carpet covering most of the floor. The large room was a luxurious one, filled with decorative carpets and tapestries hanging from the high walls. A large, soft bed, a table and a few chairs were present as well. This was, Kurt had told them, a room reserved for the most honoured of visitors. Kotaro was lying on the floor near Asuna, seemingly asleep, and outside Kagetarou had taken up position by the door. Not even the tall shadow-wielder reached even halfway up to the ceiling.

"You are her caretaker..." Haengr said to Takamichi, who was standing next to Asuna. Like with the matriarch, the tone in his voice was one that inferred that it was a statement and nothing else. It was softer and gentler, but the meaning behind it was still the same. Takamichi met the man's eyes from his position holding Asuna's hand and nodded. While the old man might seem feeble, his voice hinted at something else .

Haengr walked over to Asuna and leaned forwards slightly, supporting himself on his stick as he looked at the girl's face. A thoughtful look passed over the man's face as he watched the girl, who still was looking out of the window, not responding to anything.

"You did the right thing to call me." he said after a few seconds. "This child had seem much pain, more than anyone by right should." Takamichi silently agreed with the man. Not daring to hope, but still wishing that the man would be able to do something, he watched the old priest. Haengr stepped back a few steps and looked at the retainer. With a few words to him and a gesture, he made the retainer bow and leave the room.

"This will be a grave challenge for me." he said as he looked at Takamichi. "I will need all my tools for this. While they are retrieved, tell me what happened to her." Haengr motioned for them to step away from Asuna and Takamichi followed. In a hushed conversation Takamichi told the old seer all he knew of what had happened Asuna, all the way from the loss of Negi to her two breakdowns and what had followed and come between. Haengr listened intently, a look of understanding visible on his old face, and when Takamichi was done, the old man looked at Asuna.

"We are lucky..." he said when Takamichi was done. The old man's face was bobbing slowly up and down as he nodded. "To break the shell of someone who has sealed away their heart is impossible, they must be coaxed out one way or another. Whatever provoked that second breakdown might have inadvertently saved her."

"Do you think so?" Takamichi asked. He felt somewhat angered by the man's words, how he dismissed the utter, pandemonium of suffering Asuna had ended up in that evening as a fortunate event. Haengr nodded.

"Pain is pain, whether it's ignored or acknowledged." he said. "The child suffered as much when she was cold, it was building inside her, waiting for an opportunity to break her down completely. It is like an internal bleeding, growing until it bursts through the skin. To let it out, you cut the skin open so the blood can be let out. That is what it became to her." They were interrupted now by the retainer returning, carrying a silver bowl, a large clay bottle and some other things. Haengr stood up now.

"I'll need to be alone during this." he said as the retainer put down the bowl on the table. "Place her on the bed." Yet against struck by the bergafolk's direct manner of speech, Takamichi obliged. He gently took Asuna's hand in one hand and place his other hand on her shoulder. With some force, he managed to coax her away from the window and make her lie down. Stroking her forehead, he, softly told her everything would be fine, as he had done how many times now? Standing back, he looked at Haengr. The man was pouring something into the bowl from the large clay jug. Noticing him, he motioned for Takamichi to leave.

It was with no small amount of hesitation that he left the room and went into the hallway along with Kurt, who had been watching silently from the side. Well there, he wished he had some more cigarettes as he closed the door and leaned against the wall.

"Do not worry Takamichi." Kurt said, "Haengr is a master of what he does, if there is anyone who can coax her out, it is him." To Takamichi's surprise, the man took out a packet of cigarettes from inside his coat and held it out towards him. "Here, you seem like you could use one."

"Thank you." Takamichi said, pulling one of the cigarettes out and lighting it. Still, his trained eye noticed something very interesting. That packet was a brand he recognized, one that made him get quite a few thoughts. He didn't say anything about it however, instead glancing at the door.

Behind it, Haengr was not sitting right next to Asuna, holding his hands over the bowl as he chanted quietly. After a while the palms of his hands lit up, shining brightly for just an instant, the liquid in the bowl bursting with smoke as it rapidly turned into vapour. As the vapours rose into the air, starting to move in intricate patterns as it curved around the man. Eventually though, it spun out and reached for Asuna, spreading over her and sprinkling her with the vapours. The soft, pervasive scent of a mountain lake settled over the room. To Haengr, the walls of the room begun to fade away as reality and imagination intermingled. The walls of his consciousness slowly vanished and he put himself into a deep trance, preparing himself for what lay ahead of him.

Takamichi heard the chants on the other side of the wall and fidgeted, wanting to know what happened. He turned to Kurt, who had lit a cigarette of his own.

"Do you have any idea of what he's doing?" he asked.

"Only partially." Kurt confessed. "What I do know is that the liquid he poured up is some kind of hallucinogenic mixture. The room will most probably be filled with mists now. I cannot say I know why he uses it though." Kurt got a distant look on his face as he took a puff of his cigarette. "These people don't like sharing, even with us."

Takamichi yawned again, nodding in acknowledgement of Kurt's words. He could see that, these mountains couldn't give much incentive for generosity. Yet... he still couldn't believe he had met Kurt again, but the exhaustion returned with a vengeance. Twelve hours of hard running had taken its toll. He couldn't believe he had managed to stay awake this long, he was near a collapse. Kurt noticed him yawning now and smiled.

"Your room is right in here" he said, pointing at the door opposite of Asuna's. "If you got here all the way from where Ormgeirr were there's no wonder you're tired."

"Ormgeirr?" Takamichi asked with a yawn as he got off the wall and walked into the room. Kurt moved into the doorway.

"The supreme warlord of the bergafolk," he said, "He's been leading their elite warriors in harassing the Megalomesembrians up north. Now sleep, we'll have time to catch up tomorrow." Takamichi raised a hand in thanks as he yawned again and Kurt closed the door.

* * *

After the schismatic war only pieces of Ostia had remained intact. Most of the islands the city lay upon had crashed into the mists, becoming devoid of all life. Only a few of the isles remained intact, amongst others the large island amongst other things the royal palace was situated upon. Yet not even this place remained the same. Now it was the centre of the Megalomesembric management of Vespertatia. Management or occupation depending upon who you asked.

The city was under strict surveillance by the army, great battleships surrounding it at all times along with the thousands of troops stationed there. The royal palace was now a massive army base, filled with soldiers and equipment, and a large contingent of these had gathered in the main courtyard. Standing in two large blocks, they flanked the path up to the main palace building and a high officer was standing between them, facing the courtyard.

The man's eyes were firmly fixed on the ship that was approaching. The shuttle was one of those that carried high-level dignitaries and officers, a sleek, fast and heavily armoured bullet of a shuttle bristling with electronics and protection. The officer was more concerned about who it carried however and as the shuttle approached to land in the courtyard he felt more and more nervous. He had been here for seven years now and by his count he had done a good job, the terrorists has been driven back and mostly rooted out in most major settlements, life could go on as usual for the people. Then why was the eighty-first division suddenly coming here? He didn't need those sociopaths to interfere with things here.

As the drawbridge to the shuttle opened and the officer got a good look at who was standing there he felt how his spirit dropped. The tall, handsome man that came down the drawbridge towards him, with black, combed-back hair, a short, black beard and the robes of an executor-in-chief radiated bad news. His steps were confident, his eyes were cold and his posture arrogant.

"Executor Sterning." the officer greeted him with a sharp salute. The man outranked him by a mile, only an executor was the equivalent of a colonel, an executor-in-chief was the equivalent of a five-star-general, answering only to the security council."We're honoured by your presence..." the man didn't return the salute, instead walking past him and motioning for him to follow.

"I'm not here for pleasantries colonel." the man said as he made his way towards the main building. His voice was deep and charismatic but also ice cold. The colonel had to almost run to keep up with the man's rapid pace. "The situation in the new provinces has escalated, from now on the eighty-first will be in charge of things here."

"Is that really necessary?" the colonel asked, "We have things well in hand here. Despite the incidents a few days ago the nation is calm." the destruction of task force five in the north had put everybody on alert, true, but other than that things were going well.

"Not any more." the executor said. "The terrorists have managed to retrieve a body-double of one of members of the former royal family, with her as a figurehead they'll whip the nation into a frenzy."

"A body-double?" the colonel asked, staring at the man. "Sir, if that's the case then why not just spread the word? We have decent relations with many of the people here, we can avoid a lot of fighting if we just..."

"You've had all the time in the world to try a peaceful solution colonel." the man said. "The terrorists will use this, no matter what we try. For good or ill, this situation must be exploited in whatever way we can. It's an unprecedented chance to tear this terrorist organisation up with the roots and wipe it out."

"Sir, that kind of uprising could lead to hundreds of thousands of dead!" the colonel protested. The entire nation would line up to serve what they thought was a rightful ruler. The casualties would be unprecedented, the suffering immense! It would turn into a bloodbath! And this man didn't even want to reveal she was a fake, something that could save many of them?! This was what he hated the most about the shadow division. Did that many thousands of deaths really mean nothing to them? The executor turned to glare at him now, the major being transfixed by his almost serpentine eyes.

"Do you have a problem with your superior's orders?" the man drawled. "Sacrifices has to be made in wars, our nation is on the line here." The fanatic glow in the man's eyes made the colonel unable to respond. The killer in front of him wouldn't probably not think twice to order him executed, the shadow division wielded almost endless influence and didn't hesitate at all to use that power. The executor-in-chief spun around now, walking towards the entrance.

"Go back to work as usual, I will spread out my operatives throughout the region to look for signs. For now we wait: the smallest hint that anything is wrong from you or any of the soldiers and you will be court martialed for high treason."

The colonel was left in the courtyard, staring powerlessly at the retreating back of the executor. A cold feeling was growing in his gut, a realization that the peaceful days were gone. Blood would start flowing soon.

* * *

A/N: As always, read and review (seriously, tell me what you think of this, the bergafolk especially. I need to know if I'm doing this well or messed it all up from day one)


	13. Legends and mysteries

Chapter 13: Legends and mysteries

* * *

Takamichi awoke, feeling well-rested for the first time in many days. The feeling was somewhat strange and he sat up after a few seconds, looking around himself. The room he had been provided was a mirror image of Asuna's, only that his window faced the city instead of the mountains. His clothes were lying on the chair now, neatly folded instead of merely thrown onto it, and on the table a tray with food on it stood. Takamichi felt the smell of tea and freshly baked bread from it.

Mild surprise settled on his face at the sight but still, judging from the fact that they were in what was no doubt the highest echelons of the city it made sense he supposed. Donning his clothes and washing up in the small water bowl bowl standing at a mirror at the end of the room, he proceeded to chomp down on the breakfast. The heavy exercise he had gotten the last few days had left him exhausted and starved both so getting a good meal in the stomach did wonders.

Realizing something however, he stood up and headed for the door. Asuna, how was she now? Getting out of the room, he immediately came face to face with two of the heavily armed guards he had seen at the top stair. They stood at attention by the door and when he came out they both saluted him.

"Lord Takahata." one of them said in acknowledgement. "Lord Goedel told us to inform you when the honoured high seer is done."

"He's not done yet?" Takamichi swiftly deduced. How was that possible? A quick glance on his watch told him there had been about ten hours since he went to sleep, had the man been working that long?

"No." the guard said. He didn't offer any more explanation after that. "We were told to give you this." he continued however, holding out a sash to Takamichi. "This will allow you access to the entire ziggurat." Takamichi accepted it with some hesitation. It made sense though and he donned the sash, a black sash with gold rims and embroideries. The men both saluted him when he donned it, Takamichi realizing why. This probably marked him as a high officer of some kind to them. As if on cue, a servant came hurrying along the corner and when he saw Takamichi he stopped by him and bowed. Gangly and with an almost sickly tone of his skin, the man had all the classic traits of the Vespertatians, from the nose to the brow.

"Sir." the man said respectfully, "Allow me to introduce myself, I am Suda Yuuto and I'll see to your needs during you time here. Was the breakfast to your liking?"

"Oh, yes, it was just fine thank you" Takamichi answered. The Vespertatians sure seemed to have settled in nicely here. It was almost like staying in a palace. The man seemed genuinely pleased at this too.

"Lord Goedel told me to give you a tour of the city while we wait for news on her highness, would you like to go now?" Takamichi made a mental note of that. "Her highness" huh? That meant at least some people knew that Asuna had come back. But did they all know? Either way, a tour would be useful. Glancing at the door, he decided that there was no point of standing around here doing nothing.

"Yes please." he told the man. He might as well use this opportunity. Yuuto nodded.

"Right this way then sir." Yuuto gestured down the hallway and Takamichi shook his head.

"After you." he said. This part was one of the more irritating things he knew about nobility in some parts of the magic world, this including Vespertatia. There was this notion that having a servant walking in front of you was demeaning so the servants had to walk behind them, even when showing them somewhere. Takamichi wasn't like that however, instead he hung back and let Yuuto lead the way.

As they got out on the large ziggurat Takamichi raised the first question. "How old is this city?" He was curious to find out that particular piece of info. How long had the bergafolk had a civilization like this.

"Well." Yuuto wet his lips as he donned the felt coat he was wearing to ward off the cold, Takamichi having brought his thick coat as well. Mist had crept in over the city, blanketing it in a thick soup of greyness. "Archaeological evidence – we examined the area closely when we first were taken here – suggests there has been settlements of one kind or another, here for about nine thousand years. This city, however, is only seven."

"Seven thousand years?" Takamichi was stunned, that the bergafolk had had this city here for that long... it made it older than any city in the magical world that he knew of! It was incredible! Looking out across the city, with its spires and towers barely visible in the fog, he felt his legs going weak at the realization.

"No, no, no." Yuuto said with a smile now. "Forgive me my unclear phrasing, it is seven years old, period." Takamichi blinked at this.

"Excuse me?" he asked after a few seconds of dumb staring. Yuuto nodded.

"This city has something of an unique reason for creation." the man said as he respectfully motioned for Takamichi to follow him. Takamichi started to walk with him as they walked across the edge of the ziggurat.

"You see sir." Yuuto began, "When Ostia fell and hundreds of thousands of refugees poured through the mountains, fleeing the fallen capitol. Admiral Takeda, the sole Vespertatian commander left, ordered the safe roads through Vespertatia to be blown up to stop the Megalomesebrians from pursuing us. However, many refugees ended up being trapped inside the mountains due to this. The bergafolk, who became our allies, took us to this valley, a secret hideout one could only reach through the mists, and put us here so we'd be safe."

"And you just built the city here?"

"Not "just" sir." Yuuto said. "It was a bit of a controversial decision initially, but well; as they say, "if you want a house built..." if you are familiar with the expression." Takamichi was familiar with it. " If you want a house built, find a Vespertatian." The saying existed in dozens of variants but they all meant the same; "find right person for the right job". Here it seemed to mean another thing however.

"I see..." he said, wondering how he could put it politely. "It was a way to cope for you, wasn't it?" he asked the man softly. Yuuto nodded.

"It was, sir." the man agreed. "Many of the refugees were deeply traumatized by what had happened. It was inconceivable that not only had we been attacked, Ostia had been destroyed and even the royal family was gone. By throwing ourself into what we knew the best, creating, we could deal with the pain." Yuuto seemed to have something pained in his eyes now. Takamichi didn't dare to ask what it came from though.

"And you built this entire city on only a few years?" he asked. Yuuto nodded now.

"Yes sir." he said, getting something slightly proud in his voice. "We spent the first two years excavating the area, documenting all archaeological remains we found, and travelling the mountains in search for whatever settlements we could reach. It was a decision from early on that we wanted to build the city as the bergafolk would have, at least as far as possible. By identifying core patterns present in their culture and with a lot of advice and opinions from several prominent figures we managed to have a blueprint made after 19 months of hard work."

"What were those patterns?" Takamichi asked. He was both amazed and amused. Some part of him was even relived. The creative spark of the Vespertatian people truly was amazing. What an idea, to rally an entire people of refugees and direct all the pent-up anger, frustration and grief onto something like this... it made him happy.

"Well for example," Yuuto begun, "They are amazingly enough a matriarchal society. Women always holds the position as supreme leader, the harskarinna. The figurative translation would be matriarch. However men will always occupy the position as kampherre, meaning roughly warlord, and his word is the only one that can challenge the matriarch, however slightly. This reflects in their religion: their two supreme deities are the sun and the moon. The sun is envisioned as the matriarch of the gods and the moon as their warlord."

"Yes, I heard Kurt say something about that." Takamichi said. "Is there any connection between their faith and Sol Transitus?" he asked now. It would make sense if that was the case. The idea of the sun as the supreme deity, the ruler of all, was strikingly similar. Yuuto smiled.

"Even before we came here there was a general consensus on that the bergafolk and the Vespertatian people share ancestry." he said. "However to answer your question: yes. Evidence points towards that queen Vesper introduced the sun worship here and that the bergafolk who didn't follow her came to adapt it into this shape. And as an interesting aside: there is a legend amongst the bergafolk about a woman who took many clans out of the mountains to live in the lowlands."

"I see..." Takamichi said. How fascinating. "Either way, so you built this city from scratch then?" Yuuto nodded.

"More or less." he said, "We took great care when constructing it, inviting every bergafolk who wanted to come and aid in the process. The artwork you see on the walls here, for example," Yuuto indicated the many paintings and carvings on the walls, "are all bergafolk work. While we felt we could develop an architecture that would be much like that which the bergafolk could have developed we did not want to take such chances with the artwork itself. Not the least since this would be a holy site for them."

"But you, outsiders I presume, were allowed into this holy site?" Takamichi asked. Strange... if this retreat was sacred to them it made no sense that outsiders would be accepted here. Yuuto shook his head.

"It wasn't holy then." he said, "But with the construction of the great temple, it has become. That was also a reason for us creating this city. It was a form of returned favour for the bergafolk taking us in. I'm oversimplifying the whole thing though, the actual events were very complicated." he admitted now. "But basically: they took us in and fed us, in return we built this city for them."

"It's amazing." Takamichi said honestly. "Even with magic, to have built something like this in only seven years is no mean feat." Yuuto seemed to shine with pride now. Takamichi realized that this had to be an extremely important city to the Vespertatians. The city they created in the place that saved them... he could already tell that this wouldn't be a city easily forgotten. "But, please, tell me more."

"Yes sir." Yuuto said, "For example, this ziggurat itself we decided upon after encountering many different forms of step pyramids, usually created from packed earth. Mountains are important to the bergafolk and we found many towns built on a terrace-like step pyramid. For a while we played with the idea of making a giant step pyramid and place the entire city on it but the idea was too unrealistic, the issues that arose were massive. But we did manage to create this ziggurat at least. The rest of the city was created through more traditional methods, however we made sure to incorporate every last bit of bergafolk design and architecture in it." They had now come to a large wall painting that caught Takamichi's eyes. Unlike most of the other paintings this one depicted what seemed like an all out war. Several armed figures were fighting some kind of massive, shapeless thing with large, black hands that reached out, seemingly hungrily, towards them.

"I take it these paintings depict different mythological events." he asked and Yuuto nodded.

"Yes sir," he said, "This scene in particular is of great interest. It is the tribe of the greater gods, led by Sun and Moon, waging war against a primeval evil, a being out to devour everything. If you look below, at the corpse lying below the scene." Takamichi looked down to see a massive figure stretching out below the scene. It was so long that Takmichi had thought it was the ground at first.

"That is, according to their beliefs, how the world was made. This particular god was the father of Sun and Moon, we've translated his name to Earth. Earth was killed during the war and Sun was badly wounded, if you notice the woman being wounded there." sure enough, one of the hands were clawing at a woman with a gloria, blood spilling from the wound. "Please, let us continue," Yuuto said now, "this part of the wall is of great interest since it has a more or less coherent depiction of their entire myth of creation."

Yuuto led Takamichi along the wall, showing image after image that told the creation myths of the bergafolk. The story went on with how the blood of the sun goddess had fallen on the corpse of her father Earth, giving birth to animals and plants. When the evil being had been driven away the moon god had stabbed his spear into the corpse and called forth the last sparks of life from Earth's body to give birth to the bergafolk. The moon god created the bergafolk so they could guard the things that had been created by his sister's blood from this evil. For making the death of their father permanent he had been sent away to never show himself in front of his sister again. The sun goddess had taken pity on the naked and confused humans below her however and embraced them, giving them clothes, plants to grow, medicine and all good things. Later, when she had left, moon had come and given them warfare, hunting, weapons and all things needed to kill and wage war. If the evil ever returned the bergafolk would be equipped to face it.

Takamichi listened to the store with a sincere interest, awed by what he heard. That such a rich and deep culture had existed right in the Vespertatians' backyard for all these centuries. Ironically, to the culture-loving Vespertatians the great tragedy of their time was followed by being granted such a gift, Takamichi could see how it had made them so much good.

"Just a question." he asked after a while. "I met high seer Haengr yesterday, he's their high priest of the sun, right?" Yuuto nodded. "What about the priests of the moon, how do they stand in relation to him?" Now Yuuto looked decidedly uncomfortable.

"They... they don't stand at all." he said cryptically. "It's a bit complicated but the seers – the sun priests – and the druids – the moon priests – form a kind of duality to each other. The seers are healers, judges, comforters, leaders, mouthpieces of the ancestors. The druids, however, are bogeymen the bergafolk fear."

"Do these people even know fear?" Takamichi asked, provoking an empathic nod from Yuuto.

"Believe me sir." he said, "They know fear, and they fear the druids more than anything else. Crudely, I would describe them as insane hermits, cannibalistic madmen who lives in the wilds and preys on the bergafolk. They are inhuman, monstrous, and the only discernible goal they seem to have is weeding out anyone not strong enough to measure up to the moon god's standards, doing this by killing and eating them." Takamichi went cold by what he was told, thoroughly creeped out by the man's words.

"And that's the priests of their war god?" Yuuto nodded.

"The moon god isn't just a war god though, he's death, pain, suffering, blood, darkness, fear etcetera. Anyone who serves either sun or moon, truly serves all they are, is said to become like them. In sun's case they become nurturing and caring, people who are balm to their tribe. The ones who serve moon..." Yuuto didn't continue at first. He seemed to struggle to find the proper words. "Sir, to the bergafolk the druids are as feared as the bergafolk are to the people outside the mountains. One of their warriors once told me that if you met one you'd be lucky if you were toyed with, killed slowly, cannibalized and flayed so they could dress in your skin to prolong their lives. And if you were very lucky, it was done in that order."

"Indeed you would be." a voice said behind them and Takamichi turned to see Kurt coming up towards them. He was clothed in bergafolk clothing consisting of a knee-length, deep green robe with the same kind of sash as Takamichi, only it was folded much like Haengr's. Under the robe he was wearing brown pants and boots. "Good morning Takamichi." he said.

"Good morning Kurt." Takamichi said to his old friend. "Have Asuna recovered yet?"

Kurt shook his head, "The temple guard will inform us us when she has. Anyhow, to finish the story. The druids of the bergafolk are easily the some of the most dangerous people in existence." he said as he got up to Takamichi. "They are part of the reason the bergafolk have not developed beyond a tribal society; anyone breaking with the traditions set down by their ancestors are dealt with in a way that will make the rest of the tribe fear even thinking about violating tradition. You're dismissed." the last part Kurt told Yuuto, who bowed now.

"Yes sir, I'll bring you lunch at twelve exactly." he said to Takamichi, who nodded in approval, before he left.

"It's strange how much you seem to have gotten away with here considering that" Takamichi said as he looked out across the city. The realization that despite being surrounded by the bergafolk nothing had changed, or had even gotten worse, wasn't comforting. There were still people out there who would kill if they didn't like something. Even worse, now it wasn't just a guess, it was a fact. Kurt shrugged.

"There is nothing strange about it. It is care, not chance, that has been the deciding factor here." he said as he leaned against the stone wall that went along the edge of the ziggurat's fourth floor. "This enclave is high prey for the druids, that we've seen many times, but we have a few good tricks for holding them out of here whenever they try to enter."

"Such as?" Takamichi asked and Kurt pointed up towards one of the spires on the ziggurat. Takamichi looked up and saw the outline of a figure high upon the spire. He couldn't make out any details, but he could see that there was a person there.

"That person." Kurt said in explanation. "Without going into details, he, or she, I can't see, is a mistguard. They cannot only move through the mists, they can control it, even become it. Whenever the mists sweep across this city they appear from heaven knows where and guard the city. They are capable of countering the druids' attempts to enter Othila."

"You don't sound like you know much about them." Takamichi noted, making Kurt shake his head and smile sardonically.

"With good reason." he said, "They refuse to even speak with us. Only their leader even deigns to address us, and even that is only rarely. That's also a part of why we needed the princess, she would have a greater leverage against them compared to a border fleet officer and an adventurer." Takamichi slowly nodded. He could see that. Even though he still couldn't grasp the picture of Asuna as a princess, he knew there was only that way now. It was her birthright and unlike he had with his – the lack of magic that had plagued him all his life – she couldn't get away from or around it, not any more. Yet... in all this there was bright spots.

"I'm happy to see you against Kurt." he said to his old friend with a sincere smile. Soon after the fall of Vespertatia Kurt had vanished, claiming that the methods the crimson wing used wasn't enough to save the world. That had been the last anyone had head of him until now. Takamichi felt like it couldn't have come more fittingly though. Unlike him, Kurt was a genius in seemingly everything he did. A mind sharp as his sword and skills with said sword even sharper, he was quintessential hero material. Kurt returned the smile with a wry one of his own.

"I can't say I don't return the sentiment." he admitted. Takamichi chuckled at the man's roundabout praise. "However..." now Kurt's voice turned somewhat cold as he looked at Takamichi. "You do understand what a precarious situation you are in, right?" Takamichi didn't have to think long before he understood what Kurt meant.

"What was there to do?" he asked, "Send her to become a figurehead for a people in exile so young and so traumatized? With the contract she was tricked into making with Malfeas ever present in her mind?"

"That's what can save you." Kurt nodded. "With some strategic choice of words it'll all work out, but remember this: to the Vespertatians the house of Entheofushia is a core part of who they are. They have ruled this nations for millennia, an unprecedented reign, and have been both its religious and political leaders. With them gone, the Vespertatian identity itself collapsed. Thanks to what happened in Ostia the entire nation has been in a state of trauma-induced shock for the last decade, something the Megalomesembrians have used. And believe me, there will be a lot of people who won't forgive you for letting it go on if the truth comes out."

"That might be the case," Takamichi said as he got up from his resting place beside Kurt, "But I'll leave my judgement in the hands of Asuna. Besides we have a war to fight, are you going to turn on an ally?" he looked at Kurt without fear, not planning to back down. Kurt looked at him through unreadable eyes but eventually he smiled, a pleasant smile settling on his face.

"You're as straight-laced as always Takamichi." he chuckled. "It's good to have you on board." he reached out to take Takamichi's hand and Takamichi took it, pulling Kurt in to slap him in the back.."But now you have to tell me," he continued as he pulled back, "Who is this Kagetarou fellow you came along with? And that beast, I've never seen an animal like that before. Are you already working on a second generation Crimson Wing?"

"Heavens no." Takamichi said. What a thought, that he would assemble a band to rival the Crimson Wing. "Nothing so grandiose I am afraid." he continued "It is pure chance that they are with me, both of them." He told Kurt what he knew of the two, the man's face evidently impressed as he got to hear the story. Slowly nodding as Takamichi told him how he had met the two figures, man and dog alike. Kurt ended up chuckling when Takamichi was done telling him their backgrounds.

"Nothing so grandiose you say?"he asked Takamichi. "A master shadow wielder repaying a life debt to prince Sato and an animal which A: used to be the princess' magister's closest friend and B: is sent to guard over her. That is grandiose enough. Not to mention, with both you and me backing the princess most people will assume that the Crimson Wing is backing her, something that will have an immense effect on morale."

"You got all bases covered it seems." Takamichi was amazed, it was like seeing small cogs spin at maximum velocity in Kurt's head.

"I have to." the man responded, offering Takamichi a cigarette. "Takeda and I have developed a well-functioning partnership." he continued ,"He is the military leader, I am the one who gets things to work outside of the war itself."

"So you never became a general?" Takamichi asked as he lit up the cigarette he had taken, remembering the teenage Kurt's dream of being the supreme commander of an army. Kurt shook his head.

"After about a day it was clear that I'm a genuine amateur compared to the good admiral." he said. "You saw his eye patch? During the retreat from Ostia the bridge he was on was hit by enemy fire, despite being showered in glass and hot metal he remained standing on his post, tirelessly directing the retreat every inch back into the mountains. He had the healers stop the bleeding on the spot and leaned on his other leg when the first had the knee shattered. Even today he carries a limp, severe scarring and one lost eye, he refused to abandon his post and get help until they were in the clear. And even through that he managed to direct forces consisting mostly of lightly armed border patrols to inflict heavy casualties on a numerically and technologically superior enemy." Kurt fired up a cigarette of his own.

"Takeda is a military mastermind:" he continued as he took a deep puff of the cigarette, his face thoughtful "Had he been born in Hellas or Megalomesembria he would have been a key factor in the schismatic war. As it was now he was stuck in a dead-end position in the Vespertatian border patrols due to his vocal disagreements with the Vespertatian high command." a sardonic smile spread over his face at this. "The fall of Vespertatia became his ascent into greatness."

"So you have a fleet?" Takamichi asked. That would do a lot. Kurt nodded.

"Beat up old airsubs, a cruiser that was heavily damaged during the retreat here and which we've only managed to patch up, small patrol craft from the border guards. The glorious fleet of Vespertatia, at our beck and call." Kurt smiled sourly at this. "This situation is bad enough that we've taken to trying to hi-jack enemy ships whenever we can. I mentioned Ormgeirr yesterday, he's been leading the bergafolk's elite forces in the north for just that purpose, capturing enemy ships."

"Can a group of tribal warriors really do that?" Takamichi asked. He didn't doubt the bergafolk's skill, however capturing ships wasn't easy even for the armies of the magical world. Kurt only smiled though.

"Believe me they can." he said. "They've all in all managed to capture a dozen ships, all assault craft, since we begun. It's a sport to Ormgeirr's chosen, they have all hunted hydras, dragons, giants and all the mountain has to offer, now they hunt a prey that is as smart as they are. They love it. Only a few days before you met up with them they captured three new ships according to Kaun."

"Oh, yes that." Takamichi said, remembering something now. "Was that why those temple guards showed him such respect, because he's one of Ormgeirr's warriors?"

"No, not directly." Kurt said, "Did he show you his face at any point?" Takamichi responded that, yes, he had seen it, and Kurt explained. "The tattoo he carries in his face marks him as a hero to them. Those who have accomplished something great are given a tattoo somewhere on their body depending on what they did. To have one on the face means it was a truly great deed. Kaun for example, the dog-animal he's marked with is a stenata, a rock hound. It symbolizes endurance, toughness, loyalty, determination. Conversely, the red colour stands for courage and ferocity. Other colours and animals symbolise other things; the tattoos are a central part of the bergafolk culture. To carry one on your face is to be a hero, to carry a teal one is to be a living god."

"Like Sylgja?" Takamichi asked and Kurt smiled widely, almost maniacally.

"Like the honoured supreme matriarch Sylgja indeed." he said. "The teal dragon is the tattoo she was given when she united the clans ten years ago. She is more than a tribal chieftain, she is the queen who forged her people into one, cohesive unit. After the Megalomesembric destruction of five tribes she united her people, creating a fighting force that has done more to hold these mountains than the very mists themselves. Between them and the Vespertatians we've made the occupation a right gauntlet for the Megalomesembrians. And now, with the princess, you and those two others you picked up, things are only looking better and better." a grim smile settled on his face. "Let us just pray for the success of the good high seer."

* * *

As Kurt said this something happened inside Asuna's room. Haengr, who had been sitting still in the chair, eyes closed, for over ten hours, startled. Opening his eyes, he looked at the bed. Through the haze still filling the room he saw Asuna lying still on the bed, in the same position as she had been when he started. Yet her face was calm now.

Getting up from the chair, the old man slowly hobbled over to the window. He opened it to let the thick fog out of the room and the fresh air flooded into the room. On the floor, Kotaro's head flew up now, he seemed to have awoken in an instant and he looked around. With the cane to support him, the old man went back to the bed and reached out his free hand towards Asuna. Hovering it over the girl's head, he closed his eyes again. Kotaro followed the man's movements with his eyes, seemingly getting anxious.

"Wake up Asuna, daughter of Yoshiko." he said in his own language when his palm flashed up again, throwing a flash of light over the girl's face, "You are made whole again." he withdrew his hand and his eyes fell on Asuna's face. The girl's eyes were open when he pulled back his hand and Haengr stepped back. Sitting down, it was only just that the old man managed to pound his cane into the floor and position his body so that when he lost consciousness he didn't fall off the chair.

Outside of the room the two guards heard the pounding and exchanged looks for only the faintest of moments before they immediately burst into the room. Entering, they both saw the unconscious high seer sitting on the chair and a confused girl slowly pushing herself off the bed. In an instant, the two men had acted. One of them rushed to the high seer's side and felt his pulse, the other went for Asuna.

Yet now Kotaro acted, the man's actions triggered the guard instincts of the animal and he immediately positioned himself between Asuna and the man, baring his teeth. The man startled and clenched the hand that was wrapped around his glaive. It was guard instincts on both sides, the sudden approach of the men triggered Kotaro and the sudden aggression of the beast that close to the vulnerable high seer triggered the temple guards. Yet the situation was resolved in an instant.

"No!" Asuna said, reaching out and putting a hand on Kotaro, making the entire beast startle as Asuna's command echoed through its mind. "down!" she commanded again, her voice clear, awake, sharp and decisive. Kotaro immediately lay down on the floor, Asuna keeping her hand on his neck as she looked up. "How is he?" she asked, getting up to approach Haengr, who did not move a muscle. The guard supporting him said something to the other in a strange language and the latter left the room, hurrying outside. The other guard looked at Asuna now, the girl being creeped out by the ornate helmet the man wore. It looked too much like a dragon's head for her to relax.

"He was in trance for ten hours." the remaining man said as his hands begun to glow. A soft light enveloped them as he used some kind of spell on Haengr. "One hour alone is draining. His holiness has never used it this long before." There was something frantic in the man's voice.

"Is he going to be all right?" Asuna became worried now. She didn't want this old guy to die for her.

A commotion took place at the door now and more temple guards entered. Two of them hurried to Haengr and picked the old man up. They carried him gently, one holding his back and the other his legs as they walked beside each other out of the room. Two other guards followed them out, supporting the man from the other side as they carried him away. Just as the four guards had left, however, another person came inside.

This person was evidently not a temple guard, instead wearing somewhat normal clothes. His skin, however, was pasty and he seemed almost starved, so this he was. But the energetic look on his face and his crisp moves made it clear that he was all but sick. The man had an eager look on his face, one that shifted to amazement when he saw her. Before Asuna knew what had happened, the man was kneeling in front of her.

Asuna blinked now, wondering what the heck was going on. The man immediately kneeled in front of her, putting one knee and one hand to the floor, resting the other arm on the other knee and bending his head. It took her long enough to figure it out why he as doing it that the man revealed the reason himself.

"Your highness." the man said, his voice trembling. It sounded as if the man was close to tears. "Welcome back, it does me good to see you once again amongst us." Asuna froze for a second, reality hitting her like a brick in the face. He knew who she was, the thing she had been dreading for days now had finally happened, she was with people who knew who she was. Asuna didn't know what to do. Still being a bit groggy from having awoken, she hadn't managed to collect her thoughts enough to formulate a response. Several awkward moments passed as Asuna stood in front of the kneeling man, tongue-tied. It was, in the end, the man who broke the silence.

"Forgive me my presumption and my audaciousness," he begun, his voice carefully measured. "But I feel I should inform you that there is still food left from breakfast in case you would like to have something to eat soon. Do you wish for anything special?"

"Uh..." Food... yeah food was good, she'd think about that now. "Eh, no, anything will be fine." she said and the man bowed his head a bit deeper in acknowledgement.

"I will be back within a minute." he said and got up before he vanished out of the door. Asuna almost reached for him to catch him, surprised by the man's quick exit. She was left standing like an idiot in the middle of the room and after a few seconds she groaned and sat down on the still pulled out chair. With a deep sigh, she sunk her head into her hands and tried to gather her thoughts.

What had just happened?

Thinking back, she remembered every last minute of the many days that had passed. She could recall the traumatic memories at Roland's bar, she could remember closing herself from the entire world and becoming empty of emotions, she remembered how that woman in the mists had torn her open and how they had after that reached some city, wherever it was.

But the strange thing was, where there once had been a searing pain, unbearable and terrible, there was now a distant, dull such. It felt to Asuna almost as if those things had been so long ago, so very long ago, and that she had managed to deal with it. When remembering Negi, the images that flashed by was not the ones of his death, but of things like how they had sat in Kyoto and eaten ice cream, how he had broken down laughing like a maniac after her trick at the arcade. Their pactio kiss, which had made her shiver all over from reasons other then cold, disgust or fear. How he had helped her train, sitting down while she worked on different attacks or steps. It was like her mind instantly switched tracks onto focusing on the good memories instead of the painful ones and there was a strange sort of acceptance in her; that although he had died he had died as well as he could, managing to undo the mistakes he had done and save the world.

Of course Asuna had known all these things before, but now it was as if it became so much easier to accept. It was like she could think clearly, like the grief muddling her thoughts had been hammered away through years of tireless working. It was the same with the other memories, the flash of memory of her parents' death turning into memories of their lives unless she really forced herself to think about it. The horror of what the woman had done had faded, a comforting feeling in her telling her that she had gotten away, mind, body and soul intact. It was as if...

It was as if she was free at last...

Asuna almost jumped when the sickly-looking man entered the room, a massive silver tray carried in his hands which was covered with a large blanket. Putting it down in front of her, he pulled away the blanket to reveal that it was filled with one, two three... over a dozen of smaller things.

"I hope you'll find it to your liking your highness." the man said as Asuna stared on the tray. Amongst other things were two silver carafes with different liquids in, one white and one black. There were several bowls and small plates with different sauces, spreads, meats and vegetables and also a large basket with a cloth wrapped around whatever was inside it, bread judging from the smell. There was even a small plate of what seemed like jelly quivering on it. And to top it off a bowl with some kind of slightly yellow-ish porridge-thing stood in the middle of the tray. Asuna didn't know where to start, she didn't even remember if she had had anything like this before.

"Is there something that is not to your liking your highness?" the man asked softly and Asuna shook her head quickly.

"No, no!" she exclaimed, "In fact, it's great but bloody hell, this is food for ten people! I'm not that hungry." Was this how Vespertatians ate? Thinking back, she could only remember a few meals back when she had lived in Vespertatia and none of them had been like this. "Also, what is all of this? What's it called, how do I eat it?" She couldn't see a pair chop-sticks anywhere and didn't know how to begin. The man, however, enlightened her.

"As the main dish we have this." he indicated the porridge-thing, "the traditional rice porridge with spices, I've taken the liberty of adding some local flavours as we've not been able to get hold of the traditional ones. To it, there's white fennel and sesame bread," he folded the bread basket open to reveal a series of triangular bread buns with white seeds on them, "Goat butter, various vegetables and meats, I've even managed to acquire some dried goat meat, a local delicacy of the highest order." now he indicated a series of small, dried strips of dark meat. "To drink we have goat milk," he showed the carafe with the white liquid, "And if you feel that is too hearty there's also slanberry cordial." he showed the carafe with the black liquid. "Which we've also have managed to make jelly of." he indicated the small pile of wobbling jelly.

Asuna didn't become much wiser after that, instead her head was spinning. Nope, she didn't recognize any of it. Still, this guy seemed like business.

"It'll probably be good." she said, hoping that she would be able to wing it without making him have to commit harakiri or something. "Just... how do I eat this?" he asked. God she felt like such a jackass! Wasn't she meant to know this stuff!? It probably was the fact that her mind had tilted but she still couldn't see any chop-sticks.

"The utensils are to your right your highness." the man whispered lowly. For some reason Asuna got a feeling that he had perfectly pinned that cause for her nervousness and tried to downplay it. That didn't stop her from feeling like a moron as she grabbed hold of the knife and sliced the bread open though. As she did so she felt how the hunger returned but the man standing behind her made her pause for a moment.

"Uh, you can leave now." she said, wincing at how she sounded. The man only bowed his head however.

"By your will." he said with a smile, "if you need me, you only have to use the bell." he indicated a small bell that Asuna had missed, which was standing on the table. Asuna nodded and within a second the man had left. Asuna looked after him, still amazed by how sharp his moves was. She was reminded of Negi when he fought, there was the same kind of instant reactions and snappy movements.

Was that guy the super-servant? Serving a thousand meals in a second? Gah! Asuna turned away from that stupid line of thinking and to her food. She immediately dug in, attacking the food in the best way she could come up with. She knew how to use butter and the veggies and meats were probably for having on the bread. And if it wasn't, it now was via royal decree... Asuna tried no to wince again when thinking of how bad that joke was and turned lo look at Kotaro. Perhaps he'd like some of the meat, she couldn't possibly eat it all on her own.

To her surprise however Kotaro already had food. A large bowl of what seemed like meat chops were positioned on the floor and Kotaro was slowly sniffing at it. After a few seconds he seemed to approve of it and started happily digging in. When had that guy fixed that? Asuna saw an image in front of her of how the guy was standing on the top of a tall building with a billowing cape and the letters SS on his chest standing for "Super-Servant".

Ugh... Asuna dug in now as well, taking a spoon full of the porridge. She took a pair of sniffs of it as well and furrowed her brow. She didn't remember the name, but she could kind of remember this smell. Asuna immediately put the spoon into her mouth, eager to find out more, and the first thing she noticed was that it was wonderful. The porridge was just warm enough and the rice seemed to melt in her mouth. What more, the mild seasonings made it all good enough to make her almost moan in delight. It was first now that she realized just how hungry she was.

Asuna could honestly not remember afterwards how much she had eaten, however the porridge went down to the last drop, as did at least half of the bread buns and a good portion of the spreads. She did find the milk a bit too hearty and instead emptied the carafe with the cordial. Yet, when it was done she felt more full that she had ever been in her life, almost to the point of wanting to throw up. That had been so good and Asuna almost felt like she wanted to take a nap now. Kotaro seemed pleased as well, having licked the bowl clean and was now curled up in the corner. It looked almost a bit funny, he was so big that he looked more like a giant skin bed of some sort than an actual animal.

Still... Asuna looked around and realized that she hadn't even left the room. Getting up, she wobbled a bit when the sudden rising made her go dizzy. Still, she didn't fall over or anything and made her way to the door. Opening it slowly, Asuna peered out of the room and only got to see a long hallway. Unlike her room it was almost completely lacking features, the walls being covered in sand-coloured plaster and there being a deep-brown door roughly every eight meter on each side. At the far end of each hallway there was a door as well and Asuna could see some side corridors too.

Okay, this sure didn't tell her anything useful. She instead turned around now and walked over to the window to take a peek outside. That turned out to be as useless since all she saw outside was a massively thick mist that obscured everything. Where was she anyway? Staring out of the window, she decided to do something drastic and she walked over to the bell. It wasn't without a certain sense of awkwardness that she rang it.

The man popped out immediately, appearing beside her in a blur of motion. "Your highness." the man said respectfully as Asuna nearly flew into the roof from the shock.

"Gah!" Asuna squealed from the shock. Before she could collect her wit the guy had already taken the now nearly empty tray and Kotaro's bowl both, leaving the room instantly. Not even Kotaro managed to react at the strange man who stole his food bowl before he was gone, the dog's head rising from the giant pile of fur in the corner of the room with a startled look in his yellow eyes.

Asuna blinked and she grabbed the bell now, beginning to ring it again. This time it was more intense but the man appeared just as quickly. "Would you like something more your highness?" the man asked with a crisp voice, "A bath perhaps? The bath is ready if you would like to.."

"Stop!" Asuna yelled now, "J-just stop! S-sit!" she pointed in front of her with frantic movements, not being able to keep up with this guy and getting too confused to come up with anything better to say. It worked though, in only two seconds Kotaro had sat down right in front of Asuna, the giant dog sitting down perfectly, his back straight, ears perked forward and head held high. Also, the man was sitting right next to him, with folded legs and a surprised look on his face. Still, he too and a straight back and eyes forward. Asuna got a metal image of him having dog-ears and a wagging tail...

"No, I don't mean like that." she said now, starting to get desperate as she tried to get off this strange thought pattern of hers. "On a chair, and stay still for five seconds!" the man silently moved to one of the chairs and sat down, Asuna exhaling deeply as she sat down as well. "Thanks!" she told him, shaking her head slowly. "First of all," she begun now, "Who are you, and where am I?" Hopefully she could bend some answers of out this man, whatever they would be.

* * *

The brown-haired girl glanced around the corner and looked over the rims of her glasses. Glancing down the decrepit alley, she couldn't see anything except the trash cans. Hopefully they had gotten away. She turned around now to glance at the guy standing beside her, wiping the sweat off his brow.

"Seems like we shook them for now." she told him, panting as well. Damn these guys were tough! They had been on the run for a week now and it had been a more or less constant dash with only singular hours of sleep now and then. She thanked their fortunes for his recuperation spells, without them they'd never have been able to do it.

"That gives us ten minutes." he said and turned towards her, "Let's take another full round of spells while we're here." he raised his hands and the girl turned towards him as well. Putting one hand on his forehead and another on her forehead, he made the alley light up with a series of flashes that came at a rapid pace, six spells were thrown on each of them each in the span of a few seconds. When he was done he pulled his hands down and the girl started to smile a small bit.

"Seriously though, six spells, what do they all do?" she asked him.

"Mental recuperation, removal of fatigue, telepathy blocking, blocking your aura from being searchable, blocking your outline in the tapestry of fate and giving you nutrition." the guy rattled off as he adjusted his dishevelled collar. The girl giggled now, making the guy glance at her.

"So does that make us blockheads now?" she asked between giggles. The guy only stared at her now, not saying a word. A sweatdrop appeared on his head though.

"You know, since they were blocking spells..." the girl clarified with a grin. The guy still didn't say anything.

"You know, on our heads..." the girl explained again. The guy kept quiet and for a few seconds an awkward silence settled over the alley, none of them saying anything. After about ten seconds of silence the guy turned around and walked towards the other exit of the alley.

"Let's just get moving." he said with a flat voice. The girl was still smiling, albeit forcedly, and now she got a small twitch in the left corner of her mouth. Yet they both froze an instant later, their eyes narrowing.

"This fast?" the girl whispered.

"A scout," the guy said and glanced upwards. A second later, both of them had vanished in blurs of motion.

High above them, on the rooftops, a robed figure was standing. His eyes was aimed downwards into the alleyway and a shocked look had just been etched into his face when the two people he was watching had disappeared. The shock turned to horror when they both appeared right behind him.

"Damn you're persistent." the girl said as she kicked the agent in the spine. The guy followed it up by grabbing the agent's neck and pulled him backwards. The result was that the kick left him paralysed without knocking him off the roof. Instead he was slammed into the ground by the guy and the girl kicked him in the solar plexus and locked both his arms wrapped around his own throat. The agent was left choking on the ground, unable to breathe.

"I believe the time has come for a more proactive course." the guy said as he rose, raising one hand to point it at him. "Visju Tal Li Sjutal Vangeit," he began, the agent on the ground still not able to breathe but able nevertheless to see that the guy's hand had begun to glow. "Basilisk, lizard with eight legs and evil eyes. Light placed into my hand, shoot forth the evil look. Evil eye of petrification." A rapid chant in ancient Greek followed and after only a pair of seconds a blinding beam of light shot out from the guy's fingers and impacted with the downed agent, petrifying him instantly.

The guy wasn't done though, he instead threw a small bottle up in the air and begun to chant again. This time it was in latin however. "Let the heptagram and pentagram seal this object. Bottle of sealing." At the apex of it's ascent the bottle's cork popped open and the statue of the once living agent was sucked into it, space twisting as it sealed the vastly larger statue within a bottle no bigger than a plum. The guy caught it without even looking as it fell past him again. "Let's go." he said and they both vanished in blurs of motion, darting away from the crime scene before any of the agent's friends could get to them.

About an hour later, far away from the alley and deep in the basement of a decrepit condemned building the agent was sitting on an old chair, tied to it with electric wires in a manner so that he was totally immobilized. The guy was standing in front of him with his arms folded and the girl was sitting on an old sofa one one of the corners, currently cleaning her sword. The agent only glared at the guy in front of him.

"You know my name." the guy said with a severe voice, "You know her name as well. Fate Averruncus and Tsukuyomi. You know who we are, you know what we are capable of. Now I want to know the following things. Who do you work for? Why are we being chased? What do you hope to achieve?"

The agent didn't say anything, instead he merely looked at Fate with a steely look in his eyes. For a few seconds none of them said anything, however after a while Fate sighed lightly.

"I see." he said. He leaned in now until his face was only a few inches from the man's. "You're hoping that the telepathic message you sent first thing upon awakening will have summoned your friends. If you stall us long enough, start to crack down during physical pain if needed and strew some unimportant tidbits around you will have made time enough for them to get here." Grabbing the agent's head, Fate started to turn it back and forth, looking at his features. "But it won't happen." Snapping his fingers, Fate made a magic circle light up in the ground and turned the man's face to look at it.

"You should know this circle mister scholarship student." Fate said softly. "We're cut off from the flow of magic totally, there's no magic that can work here." there was a visible drop in the steel in the agent's eyes now, the revelation obviously rattling him. "You are alone," Fate told him, "all alone in the old world, submitted to our will. Even though they told you that you worked as a team, always, and that no man would ever be left behind."

"That's what they told you wasn't it?" he continued, staring into the man's eyes at point blank range. The first signs of nervousness appeared in the man's eyes. "During all those academy classes back in the great city? Perhaps even what your parents told you? Or no, you broke with them, didn't you?" now the man startled, shocked by Fate's words as they seemed to hit way too close to the mark. "You wanted to believe that endless stream of propaganda, right? Work hard, and the nation will stand with you. Serve it, and you shall be rewarded. If not as a hero, then at least has a martyr."

"Your parents protested, didn't they?" he continued with a faint, faint smile, looking into the agent's eyes as more and more nervousness appeared in them. Sweat was starting to break out on his brow now. "More and more," Fate continued, "but you'd rather break with them than continue your maudlin life as a refugee in the Makoro district. You went on to first study at the Stowell academy, wallowing in all the perceived glory of your dear scholarship and in being one of the nation's best." a shiver went through the man now and it was not only nervousness that was visible in the agent's eyes, but also outright fear.

"Then onto applying to the eighty-first." Fate continued, his eyes staring into the man's soul, as dispassionately as always, "You got in, surprising everyone and not the least yourself. Then training... training training training, all for the one goal of one day become a true fighter for Megalomesembria's cause." Now Fate leaned in so that his mouth was only a few inches from the agent's ear. "And all that to escape the shame of being born as a Vespertatian." he finished with a soft, almost tender whisper. Now the man was actually shaking, cold sweat was visible on his forehead and he stared into the floor, fear having taken the defiance's place.

"Did they ever tell you these things little man?" Fate asked, "The difference between us and you? I may be a golem, but you are a puppet. As soft, spineless and as useless a manatee, blindly swimming with the strongest stream as it comes along. Yet there are monsters here in the old world little manatee. Without magic you are useless, not even your secrets are yours any more without the precious magic to keep it hidden. You have nothing, you are nothing."

"Now..." Fate slowly ran his hand along the captured agent's face, the man shivering at his touch and trying to pull away. "Will you tell me what I want to know?" he said as he steered the man's face via his jaw to face Fate straight on. His grip was like iron, the agent unable to escape neither it nor the ice cold eyes staring into his soul.

Under the ministrations of Fate the agent had soon broken. With the bare minimum of hints, like the shape of the man's face, his dialect and a good guess about the people he worked for, Fate could annihilate him. Where else would a Vespertatian have gotten the ability to get into the eighty-first if not as one of the thousands of refugees who had ended up in Megalomesembria's harbour district, the infamously violent and decrepit Makoro district?

And even then, how much hadn't it taken to get into said organisation. A scholarship to the prestigious Stowell academy, top grades and a fanaticism born out of wanting to be more than the disgrace that came from being a Vespertatian. All those things were needed for a Vespertatian to get into the eighty-first, and the guesses had been spot-on. Of course the man couldn't understand it and what humanity didn't understand they feared. Even within the dead magic zone, where nothing of what the man knew worked, nothing of that he could trust in could reach, Fate surpassed humanity.

That was horror, that was power, and Fate used that without hesitation. The white-haired young man saw into his soul like nothing, carving out the information he wanted with a level of psychological brutality that would make many queasy. Yet, the girl sitting in the back of the room didn't. Instead, she looked at the sight with an almost hungry look in her face, the intensity in her eyes only growing as the man was tormented into revealing his secrets.

When Fate was done and got up from the hunched position he had assumed right in front of the now hyperventilating and sobbing man, he glanced at Tsukuyomi just in time to see her finish the maintenance of her sword. She glanced up now on Fate and smiled, her smile having an almost predatory quality to it.

"My turn now Fate-han?" she asked in her broad kansai-dialect, her voice husky and eager. There was something almost sexual over the anxiety in her eyes, even more so over the slight quickening of her breath that had arisen. "He's useless, right? What more, they can't know that we know, right?" she asked him with a more and more eager voice, pleading with him to let her have him. Fate only looked at her, his eyes as unreadable as always, and after a second he asked her something.

"What will you do to him?" he asked, "Tell me that, and I'll consider it." Tsukuyomi giggled coquettishly now.

"I'll slice him up..." she said, seemingly almost shy about admitting it. "I'll carve up that fine body piece by piece. I want to see him bleed, see how that little doll bit by bit fades away, how life leaves him..." she did not get a letter further before Fate slapped her. With a powerful backhand he sent her flying into the sofa, her head spinning as the sound of the slap echoed through the room. For a moment the only sound in the room was the rapidly fading echo of the powerful slap, then Tsukuyomi sat up, her eyes suddenly raging.

"Hey you jerk!" she yelled, "What's the big deal?!"

"Do you remember what you said?" Fate asked her, leaning in to get a closer look on her face. He was as calm as ever but the look on Tsukuyomi's face rapidly turned from fury into horror.

"Wh... what did I?" she said now, blinking as a faint trembling appeared on her face. "Did I...." the girl didn't believe what she just had told Fate and raised a hand to her mouth. The horror and shock on her face morphed into despair, and soon her eyes begun to quiver. Now Fate reached out though ,putting a hand on her head.

"It is a side effect of our enslavement." he said steadily, "Don't worry, it is temporary and I plan to mitigate what symptoms there is." Tsukuyomi looked at him with naked despair and hope wrestling with each other in her gaze. "I do not go back on my word." he added after a short while, making Tsukuyomi look down as she slowly nodded, a pair of gasps escaping her as she tried to choke back of her grief.

Fate glanced back on the captured agent, the man having recovered enough to look at the tender scene. His eyes narrowed and he stood up, walking over to the man and slapped him in the face as well. However this slap was much harder and it sent the man flying, spinning through the air with chair and all into the wall. He strode over to the now prone agent, who was lying on the side by the wall with blood streaming out of the nose and the whites of his eyes showing. Fate grabbed the unconscious man by the throat and silently invoked another spell.

The light was subdued, gentle, but there was nothing gentle about what it did. It surged through his mind, tearing out the memories by force and stopping just short of outright frying the synapses. Memories, knowledge, abilities and identity, he erased it all. He wiped the man clean, annihilating who he was and leaving a blank slate in its wake. A void sucked all that into itself, like a black hole of the mind letting not even the massive pain of what he was doing register. When this man woke up again, he'd be back on square one in every aspect. He would have forgotten how to use magic, how to fight, even how to talk or even walk, he'd be back on the stage of an infant. When Fate was done, he dropped the man onto the floor, only taking enough precaution to have him land sitting.

Walking over to Tsukuyomi, he pushed her gently, motioning for her to get up. "I've found out all we need, let's go." Tsukuyomi got her things together and quickly rose, nodding absently. As they left, Fate invoked one last spell and summoned a small magical beacon. The reason for what he just had done was not vengeance or venting anger, it was a message. Any agent sent after him would be annihilated, yet it would not be their bodies but their identities that was annihilated. When they found their brother reduced to a wailing infant, they'd think twice before coming after him again.

Realizing something, Fate wiped his brow with a tissue he had in one pocket and looked at it. It was soaking wet. The sweating from their previous dash, the one to get here, had not abated. It was over an hour ago, yet he still kept sweating. Looking down at it, he eventually clenched the tissue in his hand.

"Distress knows no law." he muttered to himself. After all, he was not a president or a general, he did not command a cause or a nation founded on principles or ideals. All he had now was Tsukuyomi and his life, and whatever he had to do to protect those things, he would do it, no matter the cost.

* * *

A/N: So.. yeah. Apologies to those whose eyes glazed over at the first parts of the chapter, I might have gone a bit overboard there with painting up myths and culture. It won't happen again though, don't worry :P As usual, read and review, did it become too much? Is there anything lacking? Have the recent plot twists worked well or sucked? Let me know all these things, I will listen.


	14. Her highness' chosen

Chapter 14: Her highness' chosen

* * *

Right outside the hidden city of Othila, deep in the Pyrith mountains, war raged. That was at least what it could seem as to begin with. The clash of steel, the angry shouts and the detonations were the sounds of the battlefield. Yet it was not war, not quite.

It sure could seem as such, down by the lakeside a large battle was taking place, a tall figure in bronze-coloured armour was spinning around with blinding speed, his glaive weaving dozens of arcs through the air and fending off a full dozen people at the same time. His movements were fierce, ferocious, and he roared with a voice more like that of a giant tiger than a human.

None of the twelve warriors attacking him could get past the flurry of steel he created all around him as he zigzagged through them, never loosing his footing even for a second upon the flat rocks that made up the beach. Vaulting, the man somersaulted over two of his opponents and landed beside them before they knew what had happened. That mistake he did not forgive them for.

The man pounced at once, using the butt of his glaive to throw the men off their feet with a twirl of it. Continuing the spin, he stepped forwards and whirled past them the sharp end of his glaive giving them both a small nick on the throat each. Roaring again, he charged the ten remaining warriors, who all charged him as well.

The exchange now was a blurry affair at best. Swarms of blows were traded, the man parrying all of the ones coming his way and dealing out a blow for every he suffered. These blows however, bit through the opponents' defences here and there, nicking yet another three of the fighters. When he came out of the blurry exchange, sliding along the ground and coming to a stop several meters away, he twirled his glaive around and shouted again, this time the roar was followed by words.

"Come on!" he yelled to the seven remaining fighters, bringing his glaive to a stop behind him and holding it in one hand behind his back horizontally as he advanced on them, stalking towards the fighters. His armour gleamed in the sunlight that had started to break through the mists only recently, from the tiger-head-shaped helmet to the breastplate with its engraved roaring tiger's face and the metal gauntlets, greaves and boots engraved with tiger's paws. Yet even with all this armour, the man wasn't the least encumbered or limited in his movements and the feline aggression in his steps were not the least interfered with.

Through the slits in his helmet the man's eyes were glowing with aggression and bloodlust. When he pounced the seven remaining fighters the sight was almost like a tiger pouncing upon a pack of herbivores, a predator's hunt. His opponents were skilled and brave enough that they would not have brought disgrace to themselves on any battlefield but against this man they stood no chance. It took roughly one more minute before the men were all down, every last one of them, and the tiger-like man raised his glaive towards the sky, a roar rising from the surroundings as the people who had watched the battle cheered.

A large crowd had gathered, all in all about a thousand people, around the scene of the fight and now they all cheered as the defeated fighters got up from the ground.

"Shut up!" the victorious fighter roared after a few seconds of cheering, his voice exploding through the air and creating actual shockwaves as it surged across the rows of spectators. The cheers died out in a few instants and the man scoffed. "If you've got time to stand here and gawk, go train!" he said, "We're at war! Go get better at fighting instead of gawk at people who's trying to improve!" His voice was husky and angry, as intense in criticizing as it was in battle. The bystanders ended up humbled, several of them looking away in surprised shame. "Dismissed!" The man roared now, extending the last syllable and sending the onlookers packing.

He now turned back to the group of defeated warriors and walked up to them while he removed his helmet. Cracking his neck as he lifted the covering metal off his head, he shook his orange hair loose and sent it to spill down his shoulders. Two cat ears rose from inside the hair as they were freed from the restraining metal and black streaks became evident in the hair. The same kind of black streaks were visible on his rugged skin, almost like birthmarks the six stripes went along his cheeks and back towards his ears – three on each side of the face. A scar went over one eye, deep enough to be clearly visible but shallow enough that his eye was still intact.

His eyes, slitted and golden, went from one of the men to another, looking at each of the figures who were standing in front of him with slightly downcast looks on their faces he narrowed them slightly at the sight of how one of the men were looking down into the ground and lifted his glaive. With one hand he pushed the blade of the weapon towards the man's neck, forcing the man to lift his head in order to not be cut by the blade.

"Keep your head up." he said, his voice calmer now but still having a tone of aggression in it. Also, even though he held the long weapon in one hand it didn't twitch the least. "You're a soldier of Vespertatia," he told them, "If you're cowering that means that the strength of our nation is cowering. Keep your head up, always."

"Yes sir." the man with the blade against his throat said.

"Good." the man removed the blade and spun the glaive around to rest on his shoulder. "And concerning your fighting. You're too slow, too weak, too simple with your technique, too slow on the uptake, too poor on everything. Yet..." the tiger-man said as the soldiers seemed to get devastated by his criticism. "You've got the proper spirit and you're no more shit on any special point. Just keep training, you're on the right track." a wry smile crossed his face now, his teeth showing in one corner of his mouth. The men all saluted him when he said this.

"Yes sir!" they all said and the man nodded.

"Good, dismissed." he said as he turned around. When he did this, however, he saw that not one of the onlookers had left. Indeed, they had re-assumed their former positions around them. A tick appeared on the young man's brow now. "For the love of..." the man growled at the sight, anger flashing in his eyes. "Was there anyone else who wanted to spar?" he shouted, narrowing his eyes as he raised his glaive.

"Actually..." a voice said now and the tiger-man turned to look towards the one who had spoken. His eyes narrowed at the sight of Kurt Goedel who had appeared in front of the mass of people. The snake-like man pushed up his glasses as he looked at him with a small smile. "... their staying would be my fault. You are as passionate as always, Fumetsu Kazuro-san."

"Oh, taint, not you again. What the hells do you want this time mister snake?" the young man said, looking at Kurt as if he was just watching something particularly foul. There was no false kindness in the young man's eyes, instead they made it evident how much he despised the man in front of him. Kurt only smiled however.

"I would like to introduce you to a certain someone," he said pleasantly, stepping to the side he revealed a hooded figure standing behind him, wearing a hood and cloak over her sturdy clothes and carrying a large sword strapped to her belt. Her face was hidden by the cloak though, one of those magically obscuring cloaks that were common in many parts of the shadier walks of life. The only thing that gave her away as a girl how she was built. "I was hoping that you would give her the honour of sparring with you." Kurt continued as Kazuro glared at the girl. She was standing with one hand on her sword and he could feel that she was looking at him.

"Oh really, " Kazuro said slowly, looking at the girl. He couldn't see much of her as it was, yet what did hid see didn't impress him. "You do know I don't hold back, right?" he asked after a second, getting a smug smile on his face. "If your sweetie here wanna play she better be ready to get some scratches." he twirled the glaive around with one hand in a demonstration of strength and control. "Well honey?" he asked with a silky voice now, "Did you have anything to swing?"

He had never liked Kurt. His heroic reputation notwithstanding, all Kazuro could see was a smug snake, a political animal who thrived on wordplays, deceit and backstabbing. As much as the man was one of the official leaders of the resistance, Kazuro carried enough authority around here due to his skill and earned reputation that he could make it plainly clear how little he trusted the man. Whatever his reasons was for throwing some random girl into the fray, Kazuro wasn't going to play along. If this girl wanted to fight him he just had to send her packing, perhaps humiliating her a bit in the process to get in a stab at the snake as well.

"Jeez..." the girl said now, her voice surprisingly clear. It was a good voice, clear and strong. "Who took a dump in your porridge?" she walked out towards him now, drawing her sword and revealing a heavy, well cared for sword that obviously was magical. Yet, it still was very practical in terms of decoration, nothing that could offset balance anywhere. "I'm ready whenever you are, smartass." Kazuro raised one eyebrow now. He did like them fiery... With a smirk Kazuro twirled his glaive around and spread his feet to assume an aggressive posture. The girl followed suit, raising her sword and assuming her stance.

She held it surprisingly well, more than what he has expected. Basic, but that wasn't bad, either she didn't know who he was, deciding to be neutral, or she was confident enough that she thought she didn't have to be defensive initially. Kurt chuckled now, getting something expectant in his eyes.

"I will start the match then." he said, raising his hand. "Begin!" He yelled at once, starting the match faster than expected. Kazuro attacked instantly, roaring as he dashed towards her, yet to his surprise the girl did the same. Caught off guard by her aggression, Kazuro failed to capitalize on what little advantage he had and they ended up clashing in the middle of the field, causing an explosion that sent rocks flying.

Having parried her blow with the mid-portion of her glaive, Kazuro now slammed her sword aside and pushed her backwards. With a roar, he created enough of a shockwave that he saw her fly away. Yet, as he begun to charge towards her he realized that she had only recoiled with the upper half of her body, swinging back almost like a pendulum now as she displaced her momentum by taking one step back. With a circular motion of her entire body, she rotated diagonally downwards, like a drill she descended seemingly into the ground, yet instead of digging, she lashed out with one foot to sweep his legs out from under him. It was all Kazuro could do to leap into the air and somersault above her, landing a few feet away with his body facing her just in time to see her get up again.

He only just managed to catch himself upon landing before she was at him again, stabbing her blade towards his gut and Kazuro had to deflect it with his glaive. She kept it up though, being fast enough that he couldn't immediately strike back between her blows. Yet, after a second he managed to get an opening and twirled the glaive, knocking her sword to the side and locking it towards the ground. He punched at her now, planning to smash her face in. The blow did hit, but so did a massive kick from her that made stars explode in front of his face.

They both reeled backwards, Kazuro needing a pair of steps before he could recover. When he could, however, he did so in an instant, watching the girl as she too recovered just at the same time. A small lull in the fight was created now, the girl lifting her hand to wipe the mouth hidden under her cloak. Yet, Kazuro realized something now and ended up raising his hand as well to wipe the corner of his mouth, from which a small stream of blood was running now. Now a chuckle rose from the girl.

"So, is that enough swinging for you?" she asked him as she raised her sword again and Kazuro grinned widely now. He rose to his full height now and cracked his neck.

"Oh believe me..." he said, his lips having parted as he bared his fangs, showing his sharp teeth in an expression of intimidation and joy. "It's not even close!" He charged again, eyes gleaming. As he exploded into motion he took it up another notch. This girl was good, much more than he had expected. But he was no random nobody and her technique had more holes than a cheese grater. He wasn't going to roll over.

Her her eyes been visible, Kazuro knew that they would have widened as he unleashed a swarm of blows against her, aiming to use his superior range and the whirlwind of steel the spinning of his glaive created to take her down. Utilizing a series of rapid instant steps, he could move back and forth in front around, using the speed of shundo at close range to become untouchable. He hadn't expected to use this technique but he'd rather go overboard than keep being humiliated. What he got, however, was the girl's body exploding with energy as she stepped up a level with him. Indeed, she kept her sword spinning around, keeping the arcs wide enough that his steps became of limited use. They ended up dancing along the edge of the lake, lashing out blows against each other. The girl kept pushing through his barrier of steel, whipping his glaive away and coming at him.

It was a pity for her he had a good three levels left though, exploding up another level in speed he clenched his fist enough to make the blade hidden in it shoot out and he stepped in, knocking her sword aside again. He punched with the blade jutting out from his wrist, fixed to the back of his hand. The girl tried to kick him again but this time Kazuro dropped his glaive, rotating the wrist to intercept her kick with his lower arm. Her kick was deflected off the metal covering his lower arm and his knife-equipped fist shot past her face as she only barely managed to dodge, ripping the hood and making her stumble. Another roar exploded from Kazuro, this one triumphant.

Kazuro stepped in, elbowing her chest with a synchronized chop to the head. Quickly, he moved closer and wedged a foot behind her lead foot. The girl fell like a log and took Kazuro along with her. He ended up straddling her, one hand gripping her collar and the other positioned so the wristblade was pricking her jugular only just enough to draw blood.

"Your technique blows." he smirked, "You're way too predictable, you..." Kazuro felt the voice die in his throat as he saw something that made the world stop for him. Her hood had fallen back and made her face visible now. What he saw was beautiful young girl with smooth skin, exquisitely shaped face and fiery hair. Yet none of those things bothered him really, Kazuro wasn't a person who lost his mind over things like that. What did bother him was the eyes though. Her eyes were green and blue.

Green and blue, heaven and earth, the colours which had for centuries signified the royal family. Those eyes had been one of the most recognizable features of both princess Arika and King Takuro, even Kazuro remembered that, and her hair and face was, when he looked closer, almost a carbon copy of queen Yoshiko's.

It couldn't be...

Kazuro knew that the royal family was dead, they had died when Ostia fell.

Yet he saw it clearer than anything he had seen before.

Right below him... With eyes devoid of fear even as he held a wristblade that let some of her blood.

Her blood, her royal blood.

The blood of princess Asuna, the princess being unmistakeable even after ten years of growth.

Kazuro wasn't quite sure how he got off her, all he knew was that he had gotten off her in half an instant, and that he felt horror creep into his mind at the realization of what he just had done. The girl he had intended to humiliate, whom he had laid his hand on, even bled, was the princess! Somehow she was alive, and he had wounded her!

His legs gave away under him and he sunk down on his knees, the overwhelming realization of what he just had done nearly paralysed him. Yet, somehow he managed to push one hand forth, capturing himself in a somewhat acceptable kneeling posture.

"Your highness..." he whispered as the dream of his last ten years had been fulfilled. The royal family was alive, the miracle he had only dared to dream of had come true! And he... his wrist blade, which still was out, still carried her blood! He felt as if he wanted to puke, like he wanted to scream, like he wanted to flee in horror. The great miracle had come, and he had done such a thing. "Your highness... he whispered again, his voice a choked croak. He could only just notice when the princess got off her feet, rising up and picking her sword off the ground.

"You aren't much for holding back are you?" she asked as she raised her sword. "I can't say I was expecting to be elbowed in the face by the first royal knight I meet." Kazuro felt how her words drilled into him, like a giant drill digging into his neck, yet instead of pain it was shame the coursed through him.

"I..." Kazuro had to swallow to clear his throat, the gravity of the situation making him almost dizzy. "I submit to your judgement." he said. Unforgivable, unforgivable! His aggression had done something like this, his shameful desire to humiliate Kurt Goedel had made him do this. He had nothing left, the blood on his wrist knife had annihilated all he had aspired to be. For a royal knight to let the blood of the princess... he was a dead man walking, the only honourable thing left was to submit silently to her judgement.

"You do huh?" the princess said, Kazuro nodding slowly and noticed how the shadow of her sword rose towards the sky. "Very well." He understood what she was about to do and closed his eyes. Silently awaiting the blow he felt, even through all the shame and all the horror, some distant joy. That he'd die at her highness' hand like this spoke of a girl of conviction and a direct mindset. To be able take his death into her hands, that was the kind of leader they'd need. At least his death would show her strength to the others.

Then, his shoulder armour rang out as it was hit with the flat end of a blade, Kazuro's eyes shot wide open at this sound and only a second later another clang followed, his other shoulder pauldron being hit by the sword. "That's the kind of fighters I need." he heard her voice, even as the shock rendered him too stunned to react in any way. "Sir Fumetsu Kazuro," she said clearly now. "By the power bestowed upon me by great Sol I, Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia, the twilight Princess-Priestess, sovereign and rightful ruler of Vespertatia, bestow upon you the title of royal paladin. Arise," she said loudly and clearly, "lord Fumetsu Kazuro, Royal Paladin of Vespertatia."

The only reason the newly dubbed Lord Kazuro managed to get up was the discipline ironed into his back through a lifetime of training. The still extended wristblade was retracted with a twist of the wrist and he came up to meet her eyes, physically towering almost a full foot above her but mentally cowering still. He was hardly breathing as he met her eyes, forgetting even to be ashamed of what he had done. The princess raised her hand now, holding his glaive in it.

"When you use this." she said now, her voice all of a sudden much less formal, almost confidential, "Use it for the people, not just for me. If I ever lose it and become a monster, I don't want you to see me as any different as any other beast. Got it?" she was subdued and calm, her words not reaching anyone but him. Yet Kazuro almost broke down there and now, the enormity of her words overwhelming him again. He raised his hands though, taking the glaive with both of them. The princess held onto it though and Kazuro saw her eyes. He bowed his head.

"I swear." he said, not being able to say anything else. The princess smiled at him now, a small, yet honest smile that made his heart skip a beat. She let go of the smile and turned around to look at the crowd, which had come to kneel now every last one of them.

"My people!" she said loudly now, the people looking up at her. "Sons and daughters of Vespertatia... For too long we have been a broken nation, for too long we have been oppressed by foreign conquerors. But the night is over..." she begun, "And you made it through. Some of you know who I am, but I will still say it. I am Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia, the Princess-Priestess of Twilight and the sole survivor of the royal family." the crowd of people seemed to shiver at her words, seemingly as shocked as Kazuro was. "I am home..." she said gently, looking at the people. "I am back... It is time for us to reclaim what is ours by right. Today... today a new sun rises, one of hope... are you with me?" she had spoken with an almost subdued voice at the end there, yet not a single one of the people present had missed what she said.

The roar that met her now was deafening, people shot to their feet and screamed their affirmations. In ecstasy they screamed, showing their joy in the loudest and most sincere way possible. Kazuro could see how the princess smiled now and eventually she raised her hand, asking for silence. The cheers died at once, the control she already had gained evident.

"That was all I wanted to hear!" she said happily. Raising one hand, she made a sweeping gesture. "Now, spread the word, let everyone in this city know that I am back. Tonight, is a night for celebration! Now go!" she commanded, and the crowd all cheered their affirmations once again, a chorus of "Yes your highness!" echoing through the area as they left, many of them actually running back towards the city. The only person that remained was Kurt, who smiled widely at her. The princess turned back to Kazuro now, looking at him with an analysing look on her face.

"As I said." she told him, "Dismissed, you've got news to spread. Meet me in three hours at the fourth level of the ziggurat. I'll have someone meet you at the stairs." Kazuro snapped back to reality and saluted her.

"By your command!" he said swiftly and clearly. Now he left the beach as well, ending up leaving Kurt and the princess alone. In only a few seconds he had gotten to Othila, using shundos to move as fast as he could. Had he remained behind, however, he would have seen how Kurt ran to support the princess as she sunk to her feet, violently puking and shaking all over.

* * *

Asuna had almost had to be carried back to her room. She thanked all gods she could think of that Kurt had had a pair of teleportation charms handy. As she felt now, she would never have been able to get back without someone realizing what had happened. The servant, Yuuto, had had to go fetch a large bowl of water for Asuna to wash her face in. She was still shaking, not managing to believe that she had just done all that.

Meanwhile, Kurt was ecstatic, the man loudly praising her act to Takamichi and Kagetarou, who both had remained behind while Asuna had gone off to do this theatrical thing. As she sat over the bowl, hyperventilating with Takamichi slowly petting her on the head, she swallowed.

"Remind me again why I just did all this." she said between ragged breaths, for some reason feeling so exhausted that she wanted to cry. Kurt stopped talking now and looked at her. His smile changed into a much kinder one now.

"Because the people want this drama." he said. "We would never have been able to keep your return hidden for long." he said. "The bergafolk want the kinks in our alliance smoothed out as fast as possible. By doing this we've erased any doubt or hesitation that were amongst the people, now they are in as high spirit as possible. Now, it will be much easier to keep the alliance together when we present such a unified front."

"Did we have to do it the first thing after she woke up?" Takamichi asked now. He was ready to punch Kurt in the face. Not only hadn't he been told when Asuna had woken up, Kurt had roped her into doing something like this when she still had to be reeling from whatever Haengr had done to her. Kurt only nodded though.

"Unfortunately, it is so." he said, "Time is our enemy at the moment, the bergafolk have no patience for delays, none at all, and if we held back there a risk they could interpret it as us trying to stall. That, is something that could have ended badly."

"Oh great." Asuna gasped now, "So not only did I have to do that stupid Hollywood speech, I'll have to do more of this?" the girl slowly shook her head, not able to process the idea.

"Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year for the rest of your life." Kurt said, not a trace of humour in his face. "But don't worry, it's like riding a broom, you'll get used to it. Perhaps you'll even start to enjoy it."

"Yeah!" Asuna scoffed, splashing some more water on her face. "Like I enjoy pulling out molars." Kurt couldn't help it now but started to chuckle.

"Your highness." he said softly, reaching out to take her hand. Asuna looked up at him now. "You were brilliant out there." he told her sincerely. I never would have dreamed that you would do such an amazing job. Nobody could believe you had never done anything like that before."

"You think?" Asuna asked, looking at Kurt now. Kurt nodded again.

"Your little addition to the ceremony when you made Sir Fumetsu your paladin, the certainty and calm with which you spoke, your dealing with his behaviour against you..." Kurt chuckled and shook his head slowly. "It was perfect, almost too perfect even. I was starting to think I was dreaming several times."

"I dunno..." Asuna said, "I mean, I could deal with it when I had that cloak, it felt safer then, but when he tore it off my mind just went blank. It was all: okay, now it's time to do this."

"And that's exactly how it should be." Kurt said. "I think Takamichi can voice for that, right Takamichi?" Takamichi gave him a dark look now, one that told Kurt to not drag him along into this. However he answered his question never the less.

"He's right." he said to Asuna, "There's nothing wrong with being nervous before you do something: just as long as you can take that small step out and do it. Once you're out there, you just go with it." Now the man smiled. "The first time I stood in front of a class at Mahora I was certain I'd make a total fool of myself but once I was out there, I just ran with it."

Now Asuna leaned back in the chair, wiping her face off with a towel. "Yeah, it's not like I could just say "never mind" and get out of there." Kurt laughed again now. While he chuckled, the door opened and Yuuto came inside, the sickly-looking man carrying a small bowl in his hands. He came up to the table and put it down by the large water bowl, Asuna glancing up at him.

"What's this?" she asked as she looked down at whatever it was. It was some kind of brownish-orange liquid... was that what she thought it was?

"It's rose hip soup your highness." Yuuto confirmed her suspicions. "After your..." he hesitated for a second now, "Your adverse reaction to the stage fever," he eventually finished with the most tasteful expression he could manage. "You'll need to eat something." As if on cue, Asuna's stomach growled now and the girl blushed somewhat, realizing that she had puked up pretty much the entire breakfast. What a waste of such good food...

Asuna shook her head to clear it and pushed the water bowl aside. Taking a deep breath over the bowl, she felt the gentle smell and decided that yes, it was probably for the best if she dug in. If there was something she had learned at Mahora it was the value of eating properly. Running newspaper deliveries on an empty stomach wasn't good.

"Well, well gentlemen!" Yuuto said cheerfully now, clapping his hands together. "I will bring you your meals to your respective rooms, now please, if you would vacate the room, I'm sure you're not planning to gawk at her highness while she's eating, right? Tut, tut, good folks, please get out now." With that kind of cheerful speed that was rapidly starting to become Yuuto's trademark Kurt, Takamichi and Kagetarou were more or less thrown head-first out of the room. Kagetarou especially hadn't even gotten out of the crossed-legs position he sat in and bounced against the opposite wall.

"Certainly a brisk man, that one." Kagetarou remarked neutrally from his position, now sitting cross-legged in the hallway instead of the princess' room. The man had more or less bounced off the wall and was now bobbing slightly back and forth, looking eerily much like some kind of bobblehead figurine.

"I forgot that this is what I hate about Vespertatian servants..." Kurt muttered as he picked himself off the floor.

"Give her at least her meals." Takamichi said to his old friend. "You'll have all the time you want to get your claws into her." The sad part was that he was only half joking when he said this. Kurt sighed now however, looking at Takamichi with a tired expression.

"Time is the only thing we don't have Takamichi." he said as he rose to his full height. "The Megalomesembrians know she's back. We can't waste even a day if we want to be able to reap any sorts of benefits from this."

"But why do we need to rush it?" Takamichi asked, making Kurt turn to look at him with a withering glare.

"Showing initiative and doing a rush-job is not and will never be the same thing." the man said with narrowed eyes. "We are at war Takamichi, a war against an enemy who has in this very moment nearly fifty top-modern ships in our airspace while we have a dozen beat up rust-buckets. Who has the world's greatest firepower while we have to rely on close-quarter fighting ninety percent of the times. Who has an army consisting of elite soldiers who are the most disciplined, well-drilled and tenacious fighters in the world while all we have is tribal warriors and partisan militia! Who holds every last inch of the lowlands while we have to cower in the mountains! Who possesses some of the finest tacticians in the world while our only hope is one self-promoted admiral who has precisely five instances of combat under his belt! And you want us to throw away what could level the odds perhaps completely due to what? This absurd idea of "slow and steady" being the way even though you know nothing of this war?" Now Kurt was actually yelling, his eyes burning with anger and his face being twisted into a visage of that very emotion.

"Enough." Kagetarou's black-clothed arm shot out now and blocked the air between them. "Initiative or not," the man said, "internal strife is even less helpful to this cause." Kurt snorted now, raising his hand as if he was about to say something but stopped. After a second he spun around and stalked away. He stopped at the hallway and looked back though.

"Fine, I'll give her this meal." he snapped. "But after that, Takeda and I will speak with her and you will stay away!" Kurt's teeth were clenched now and his face twisted in anger. "This war concerns the princess of Vespertatia, not the girl you want to protect even though she does not exist any more!" With that, the man left Takamichi and Kagetarou there in the hallway. However instead of seeming shocked or sad, Takamichi seemed but thoughtful. The man picked a cigarette out of the package in his chest pocket – courtesy of Kurt – and lit it with a musing look on his face

"Interesting..." he said slowly. Kagetarou glanced at the man at this, the shadow-wielder not understanding.

"Pardon?" he asked and Takamichi shook his head.

"It's nothing." he said, a small smile crossing his face. "I just got quite a lot of confirmation of something I've suspected ever since I got here." as he took a puff of the cigarette Kagatarou spoke up again.

"Would you care to share this revelation?" Takamichi shook his head however.

"I'm sorry." he said, "But it's a personal issue, I do not want to tell on anyone."

"I understand." Kagetarou said respectfully.

* * *

Asuna's head was already spinning after what had happened after lunch. Kurt and Takeda, the "mastermind duo", had bumbled into the room just as she was about to take a nap and insisted that she should get an overview of the forces at their disposal. She had sat on the chair like a clubbed ox for over an hour as they had rattled off everything from supplies to ships and warriors and tattoos and the devil and his grandmother, enough to make Asuna's head spin.

Yet, as much as this strategic briefing thing made her want to puke, what came now was even worse. That Kazuro guy was supposed to arrive now any second for a private rendezvous. What did that even mean, were they supposed to secretly make out? Ugh...

For some reason she had been told she was supposed to say that to him, that the Royal Paladin and the Princess were supposed to meet on their own. Might have helped if Asuna had any god damn clue on what a royal paladin was supposed to do. Kurt's explanations hadn't made her any wiser and just sounded like a load of nonsense. Something about "the link between the blade and the crown" and "the steel coating of the royal fist." What was that she didn't even...

A knocking on the door made her wince, realizing that he was here. She looked at the door now, wondering what the hells she was meant to do. A quick glance on the window gave her the thought that perhaps she should leap out of it. Kotaro seemed to pick up on her anxiety now though for the massive dog came over to her, whining softly as he looked at Asuna with large eyes. Asuna smiled slightly now, reaching out to pet Kotaro in the head. As weird as it felt to do it to Negi's old friend, it calmed her down and she could call out.

"Enter!" she yelled and the door opened. It wasn't Kazuro who appeared in the doorway first however, it was Yuuto. The man entered and took up position by the door.

"The Royal Paladin, Lord Fumetsu Kazuro, your highness." he said formally as an introduction and Kazuro entered the room. Asuna saw at once that he must have used these two hours to freshen up quite a lot. His formerly somewhat ruffled hair was slicked backwards perfectly and his armour was gleaming. He carried the helmet in one arm and had the other straight by his side. He looked more like a striped housecat than a tiger as it was, especially since his eyes hadn't the faintest hint of the aggression he had shown earlier.

Indeed, there was something different in them now. Something about the stripe-cheeked, cat-eared man who entered the room now actually unnerved her. He didn't hesitate as he stepped into the room however, kneeling in front of Asuna where she was sitting by the table. His steps were confident, graceful and almost, dared she say it, sultry. There was something almost seductive about how he walked, Asuna got a feeling that had she seen him a few months ago her eyes would have been fixed on him like they were glued there.

"I have come as ordered, your highness." he said humbly but still with a kind of smirk on his lips. Suddenly, somehow, Asuna realized something. She was just sitting by the table, one hand resting on Kotaro's head as the massive beast seemed subject to her. What the heck? Had she just pulled off a "sorceress-queen" look without even trying? Anyhow, she had an answer to give.

"Get up." she said, hoping she didn't sound as stupid as she felt. Kazuro rose immediately though and Asuna guessed she had to be doing something right. Glancing at Yuuto, who still was standing at the door, she came to think of something. "Do you want anything to drink?" she asked him, trying to be polite.

"If you offer," Kazuro said with a soft voice, bowing slightly with one fist to his chest. "I will gladly partake of anything you give me." Asuna got nervous now. On one hand he was being very, very, very different from what she had seen down by the beach and on the other hand she realized that he had just shoved the decision of what to drink onto her. Oh great... Something wanted her to tell Yuuto to bring him milk, something else made her suspect that might end up being racist, what did she know?

"All right." she said after a second, "Bring him "anything"." she told Yuuto, not realizing how smug that sounded until she had said it and she almost visibly winced. However Kazuro only became stiff now, his lips curving upwards almost imperceptibly as a small snort of laughter escaped him. Yuuto nodded snappily though.

"Yes your highness." the man said, "Would you like something as well?"

"Yes," Asuna said, suddenly thankful enough to the man that she could kiss him. Of course, if she didn't take anything to drink she'd look like she was testing him or something. "tea please." she continued, Yuuto nodding again.

"As you wish." he said, leaving instantly. Kazuro was still standing in the middle of the room, Kotaro having turned to look at him now. He seemed to find the tiger-person very interesting and Asuna decided to grab hold of Kotaro a little bit so he didn't jump him or something. Still, the way Kazuro looked at her wore on her nerves.

"Why don't you sit down?" she asked. She had to get him to sit down at least, she didn't want to stand here talking with someone who stood at attention. Kazuro put his helmet on the table now, sitting down with a graceful move that made Asuna think of a housecat lying down. Asuna sweatdropped and got an image inside her head of Kazuro starting to purr, he certainly looked like he was about to. In fact, the warm look in his eyes hadn't diminished the least, instead only becoming warmer and warmer, he seemed as if he wanted to curl up in her lap now, perhaps lick her fingers... no! Bad train of thought!

Asuna didn't know what to do and this guy acting like this did not help the situation. She found herself begging for Yuuto to get back soon. That would be something, anything, that would take focus off the awkwardness that was permeating the air.

It wasn't Yuuto that changed things however, it was Kotaro. The massive beast pulled itself free of Asuna and trotted up to Kazuro, beginning to sniff on him. Kazuro's eyes shot wide open and he froze into almost total rigor mortis as Kotaro's massive sniffs made a few locks of hair actually lift from his hair and flutter in the gusts caused by his breaths. The sight was outright comical, Asuna had a hard time preventing herself from laughing as she moved to stop the dog. It was like one of those images she had seen of a giant German Shepherd licking a small kitten, the dog's tongue alone being the size of the cat.

"Kotaro, stop!" she commanded, making the dog almost bounce backwards and cower a bit at the tone of her voice. Patting her leg, Asuna called Kotaro to her side and placed her hand on Kotaro's head when he came over to her again. With a mental command, she made Kotaro lie down by her. Yet, even then he was tall enough that his back became quite a decent armrest for her. "I'm sorry about that." she said to Kazuro as the young man stared at Kotaro, seemingly too awestruck by him to continue look at Asuna like that. Kazuro shook his head though, ending up running a hand through his hair to push it back again.

"I cannot say I was expecting that." he said with a shocked voice, looking somewhat lop-eared now and looking at Kotaro still. "It's the first time I've seen a dog the size of a rivaren " Asuna chuckled now, realizing that Kotaro really was an intimidating figure. She nodded.

"I know how you mean." she said, running a hand through Kotaro's fur. "He nearly scared the wits out of Takahata-sensei the first time we saw him." Thinking back, she realized that Takahata-sensei must have been terrified by the huge canine.

"This animal... might I ask what species he is?" Kazuro asked, leaning forwards now with a curious look on his face. Asuna looked upwards for a second, pondering how to put it.

"Good question.." she muttered. Still, she was satisfied that Kazuro didn't look at her like that again. "He's the twin-blood friend of a person who was very important to me. A while ago that person died..." she paused a bit now, amazed that she could speak of this so easily. It hurt, a lot too, but it didn't debilitate her like it had before. "At the same moment this guy lost his mind," she continued, "becoming an animal. He's followed me since that." Looking back at Kazuro, she was met with the sight of the young man sitting with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly open. She realized what she just had told him couldn't be especially common even in the magic world. Kazuro looked at Kotaro, sincere shock etched on his face, shock and even horror.

"I never thought..." Kazuro's voice shivered somewhat now, he seemed almost afraid of Kotaro.

"What?" Asuna asked, perplexed by his reaction. She must have missed something. Kazuro shook his head.

"Forgive me..:" he said absently. "It's just..." he took a deep breath now and sighed. "Everyone who's a twin-blood has heard those stories your highness..." he said quietly, "Stories of twin-bloods who lose their humanity, becoming one with their animal half instead. They are seen as freaks, abominations to be put down. I myself never put any stock in those legends, believing it impossible. Yet..." Kazuro looked at Kotaro again. "I never expected to see one in the flesh." he finished quietly.

Asuna got angry now. To hear something like that rose her hackles quite effectively. The idea that Kotaro would be seen as a monster made her really mad and her eyes narrowed.

"Well those legends are wrong." she stated with a tone of steel in her voice. "Kotaro was the closest friend of that person and what happened to him was not his fault. If he is an abomination I am one as well." Kazuro looked at her when she said this, blinking once when she spoke the last sentence. When she was done he rose from his seat and Asuna half expected him to walk out. What she didn't expect however was for him to kneel again, this time in front of her chair. What she definitely didn't expect was for him to pick up the hem of the ankle-length robe she was wearing at the moment and kiss it. Asuna became stiff as a board now as Kazuro looked up, that look having returned to his face.

"Already you had my unyielding loyalty your highness." he said, his voice as smooth as velvet and warm enough to melt butter. His eyes were almost overwhelming in their glittering softness. "Yet, for this you earn my everlasting respect as well... my mistress..." he almost purred at the end, his voice a husky whisper. Asuna swallowed, the situation rapidly starting to get really uncomfortable.

Yet again Yuuto came like a saving angel, the man opening the door and entering with a tray in hand. Before any of them knew what had happened there was already a cup of exquisite china in front of Asuna and another at Kazuro's seat. With the awkward mood gone, Kazuro seemed to run out of steam and stood up, sitting down in the chair again. There seemed to be something almost petulant in his face now and Asuna had more and more trouble to reconcile the first smug and then awestruck person she had seen down at the beach with the sultry man currently sitting across the table.

"If I may." Kazuro said now, raising his cup as the sultry attitude came back onto his face. "To you, mistress. To you and your return home." Asuna raised her cup as well, almost instinctively, and more and more found herself wishing she had known what she had gotten herself into.


	15. The paths we all walk

CHapter 15: The paths we all walk

* * *

The supreme matriarch of the Bergafolk, the ancient crone named Sylgja, hobbled into the large temple. Her hunched-over figure, wreathed in thick clothes, and her hood-covered head swayed in response to each click of her black, gnarled staff. A gleam was visible from deep inside her sunken eyes as she, followed by a dozen temple guards who marched in time to the clicking of the aforementioned staff

Despite the dozen tall men with armours carved to make them resemble the terrible beasts of the mountains the most terrifying of all these people was the old woman, even a casual glance could make that clear for all but the dullest of minds. Her staff hammered against the floor like drums of war, her eyes gleamed not with intelligence or clarity as a much as savagery and her face was twisted in the sneer of someone who felt nothing but contempt for the world around her.

Those eyes were currently fixed on the figure kneeling in front of the large altar. The figure was clothed in a long dress woven out of the finest silks, silks coloured blue, purple and red, the colours of twilight. So exquisitely well coloured were they that it seemed as if the colours had been taken from the twilight sun itself.

A loose veil covered most of her hair, shimmering in the fires just like the many intricate gold embroideries that decorated her. The girl was currently praying, hands raised up to the face and a soft whisper currently being all but drowned out by the stomping of feet. Sylgja draw up to the altar, the temple guards staying before they crossed a line on the floor.

"So nice of you to deign to finally greet the person who's responsible for the current existence of your pathetic kin." Sylgja's voice said, her cracking voice taunting. "I was afraid that..."

"Please..." The girl kneeling in front of the altar interrupted, turning her head slightly towards Sylgja, just enough that some of her red locks became visible, falling like strands of fire just outside the veil. "You're in a holy place, lower your voice." the girl said before she turned back and finished the prayer by gently touching her mouth, forehead and chest with her palms before raising them in front of her and bowing her head, as if offering a gift to the one she was praying to.

Finished praying, the girl stood up, turning around so that Sylgja could see her proper. She was a pretty young girl, one eye blue and the other green. The silks flowed around her, almost like wisps of smoke, as she moved. A band of gold encircled her head and held a large, flawless diamond in position in the middle of her forehead, creating almost a golden halo which glowed in the lights of the holy fires. The several layers of silks she wore were each its own color and the way the dress was cut made them all clearly visible as they danced around each other and only making her even more like heaven during the first touches of morning light.

"You are insolent, whelp." the woman drawled slowly. Hobbling forwards, Sylgja reached the girl. She was nearly a head shorter than the girl but still glared at her, almost towering above her personality-wise. The girl stepped back, Sylgja delighting in the anxiety she saw in Asuna's eyes.

"Listen now and listen well." The old woman said now her voice was calm yet her eyes were hungry, "Without the bergafolk your people would be dead by now, hunted down like rats by the tribeslayers. You live in our retreat, you eat our food, you use us in your wars. For ten years I have sheltered the mewling infants that is your people here, letting my people bleed for your cause. But if you dare to assume that the bergafolk are your subjects for that you will not live to see the next sunrise."

"That was never my intent." the princess said, giving the woman a small bow a fraction of a second and adding "honoured matriarch" to what she said. She continued with saying "The one thing I want, for your people as well as mine, is victory against the tribeslayers, the Megalomesembrians."

A cold, cynical cackle escaped from Sylgja now, the old woman voicing her amusement at Asuna's words. Starting to slowly hobble back and forth, the hag nevertheless seemed like a pacing predator. "And what part could you and the pathetic collection of weaklings you call subjects play in this war?" she sneered. "There is at most twenty men amongst you worth their meals in this war, the rest are pathetic wretches I would have thrown out to rot a long time ago if I did not have more important issues to deal with."

The face of the princess flushed with anger now, her eyes narrowing for the fraction of a second. Sylgja's eyes went to look at the girl in an instant now, the princess forcing herself to calm down. The old matriarch smirked even wider now and turned directly to Asuna, contempt evident on her face.

"These are our lands whelp." Sylgja said bluntly, "Ours, not yours, and your kind is a parasite upon mine. Whatever duty we have against you for being our distant kin is washed away by the worthlessness permeating you, all of you, and the insults you subject us to in thinking of us as your obvious allies is one that aches to be washed away with blood, your blood." the malice, anger and contempt that permeated the air around the woman was thick enough to be cut with a knife, a deep, malicious feeling that had festered in these grim mountains for centuries.

"I understa..." the princess begun now, speaking hurriedly as she tried to calm the matriarch, however she was cut off.

"You understand nothing!" Sylgja snarled, "And I did not come here to listen to you making excuses. I am here to tell you what will happen from now on. You will listen to what I have to say, nothing else!" the princess backed down, overwhelmed by the intensity of the older woman.

"First of all," Sylgja hissed, "if your people want to survive you will show you deserve it. With the weak spines and the soft hands your kin possesses you will either work on our fields or die. Weaklings like you are good for slaves, nothing else."

"Wh-what?" the princess exclaimed in shock, however Sylgja cut her off again.

"Secondly!" she snapped, "A whelp like you does not deserve the bergafolk's aid, if you want it you'll earn it. My son has not found a worthy woman yet and in the absence of one you will become his concubine. You will earn what you want from us by pleasing him with your body and carrying his offspring..."

The next thing that could be heard was a loud, piercing crack. It echoed through the temple as Sylgja was thrown backwards from the sheer force in the punch that the princess' right fist delivered straight at her face. The old woman actually lifted off the ground, landing several feet from where she had left the floor.

When the old woman landed it was with a thud and the temple guards, who had stayed a respectful distance from Asuna, only managed reacted first now. One of them had managed in the nick of time to capture the venerable matriarch in his arms. The rest however, didn't act to protect the old woman, rather to avenge. One second later their large glaives were pulled back as they charged the girl, flying at her like a swarm of metal raptors.

None of them reached her however, another second later a black blur appeared right in front of Asuna and an earth-shattering roar sent the men flying backwards. The temple guards all flew many meters back, some of them impacting with the walls and other landing on the floor far away. None of them landed on their backs though, they were all on their feet and still held their weapons. The thing that hand landed in front of Asuna, however, growled as its three tails swished around, its fangs were bared and its blood-thirst filling the temple. The massive guard animal of the princess had come, its overwhelming powers filling the room.

The temple guards weren't just average people though. Amongst the deadly bergafolk, those who carried the animal helmets were some of the foremost fighters, men chosen to defend that which mattered the most . Each of the men were upright in moments, grabbing their glaives as they advanced on the beast. Around each of them small bonfires started to be lit as the air sizzled from their own power waking up.

"Enough!" the sharp, raspy command echoed through the room, making the temple guards' aggression die nigh instantly. Sylgja hadn't been knocked out by the blow and now slowly got to her feet, helped by the guard initially but she quickly slapped him away. Looking up as she got up properly, the old hag's eyes now blazed with fury equalling the massive beast's. The woman slowly hobbled towards the massive canine and the princess it was guarding, stopping just one step short of the zone where the giant animal would attack her.

The woman didn't hesitate however, instead she raised her staff, pointed it at the animal and spoke a rapid series of words. Before the predator could even react it was frozen stiff, stopping utterly as it was frozen into stasis. Sylgja brushed past it without a second look, reaching the princess who was wide-eyed, staring at the woman in shock. Whether it was her own actions, the sudden explosion of violence or the immobilization of her guardian that shocked her was impossible to see, but Sylgja stopped right in front of her.

Glaring at the girl, Sylgja seemed about to do something horrifying when she suddenly begun to laugh. A cackling, triumphant laugh burst forth from the woman as she still looked at Asuna, her eyes narrowed and her mouth wide open in laughter. The princess blinked, stunned by the woman's sudden act, when Sylgja reached up and cupped both her hands around her cheeks.

"As long as this spirit remains so does this alliance." the woman said with a predatory grin on her face as her claw-like hands cupped the princess soft cheeks. "I knew that Kampherre Mane's wrath rested somewhere in those veins, your people are of us no matter how far away you go or how long you were gone. See my demands as warnings, little matriarch," she continued, changing her way of addressing the princess, "For they will come true if you lose the courage needed to hit me in the midst of my own city."

"Eh..." the princess was speechless and Sylgja laughed again, picking up her staff as she turned around to walk away. Walking past the massive beast, she snapped her fingers and the beast started moving again, startling as the woman was suddenly walking away from it. The temple guards started to fall in behind their ruler but before they came to obscure Sylgja the woman turned back to look at Asuna.

"If you do take a liking to my son," she added with another grin, "remember that an intermarriage would tie our peoples together even more: he knows his place as a good man should and you'll not find a more worthy man neither amongst your people nor mine." A third salvo of laughter came from the old woman before the princess could answer and the aged supreme matriarch of the bergafolk left the temple laughing loudly.

* * *

Leaning against the sides of the window in the small hostel room they had just checked in to, Fate looked out across the world outside. As he felt a small bead of sweat running down his forehead, the white-haired mage pondered the situation they were in. Having rented this room only an hour ago, they had for the first time in days managed to get a place to get some decent rest at.

Fate wasn't thinking about the rest though, instead his mind was racing at full speed. Pulling back his hands from the window-frame, he looked down on them to see that the sweating hadn't stopped. After his first discovery of the abnormal sweating a few days ago the perspiration didn't want to stop. Faintly at first, it was slowly building and yesterday other signs had started to appear. Small pieces of skin started to come off his fingertips, refusing to grow back. Perspiration followed by necrosis in several areas. The use of hygiene spells had alleviated the dampness and smell but no more.

Looking backwards, towards the bed where Tsukuyomi had laid down to rest, Fate saw her holding her swords with a tender expression, the fingers running over them even as the girl slept. There was something almost loving about it, the caress of a loved one. Her skin was healthy and sound, no changes, but her mental state was deteriorating. The psychotic blood-lust she had displayed was growing worse and worse, she was more and more leaving the sweet naïve girl behind and being reborn as a bloodthirsty madwoman.

Fate looked back again, his mind pondering the conundrum before him. What he had told Tsukuyomi a few days before was not the full truth. His physical and her mental degeneration was a legacy of their enslavement, that much was true. Yet he had left out certain details, judging it best to provoke a sense of optimism in her due to her emotional nature. If she believed things were under control she'd be calmer, something that would benefit them both.

It wasn't that simple however. Somehow Negi managed the impossible and freed them before his death, yes. Yet he had not succeeded completely.

It had been obvious from the first day, when they had woken up in the field hospital set up by the expeditionary force. He had felt the magical imbalances keenly, it was all over the place. What more, in the room next to them a giant animal had been thrashing, being only barely contained by the mages. Fate had at first glance realized that said animal had once been Kotaro. His time as Madness was clear in his head, or at least as clear as perfect lunacy could be. Trying to make sense of the memories was arduous at best but Fate had known at least that much.

What had happened to the others, the Konoe child and the high daylight walker, was still unknown but there would be effects. Kotaro had regressed into an animal state, his human side being supplanted by his animal such. Tsukuyomi was slowly going psychotic, developing a sociopathic and almost sexual desire for death, violence and bloodshed. Fate's mental problems were nonexistent thus far, physical symptoms having appeared instead. The perspiration and necrosis were only the first signs of the physical degeneration that had set in. In layman's terms: he was rotting away.

It was intriguing, at the moment Fate couldn't even begin to calculate how high the level of magical theory at play here was. Knowing the power of Thanatos, it was very probable that this was fundamental, something interfering with the very basis of creation. That was meant to be impossible, Fate knew that. Yet... Thanatos had attempted to kill a concept, managing to violate the metaphysical itself. As a concept that was as ridiculous as it was impossible, yet Fate knew with keen certainty that it had been done.

Fate had been created to be a mage, a golem with both the total devotion and focus of it's kin and at the same time the intelligence and metal acuity of an archmage, yet even he found himself stumped as it was. What had been done at Mahora was a singular event, one as great as the destruction of Atlantis even though most people would never understand that. Yet he and the girl currently sleeping behind him had been caught up in it and left with debilitating damages upon their beings. If said damages were to be undone the first thing to do would be to find out how it had happened.

Were it any other event Fate could have figured it out by himself, his mind was as strong as a steel-trap and his knowledge of magical theory top-notch. Yet now he was found wanting, if he wanted to figure out how to stop this he'd need to go to the source. Yet what source were there? Whatever notes left by Negi were long since confiscated by the purifiers and taken to their main stronghold, the floating fortress of Munditia. During the war a renegade splinter group of the Granicus armed forces had assaulted the fortress, intending to use it as a base of operation for the fascist regime they wanted to install in their home city. They had had the element of surprise and nearly twenty ships, yet they had been wiped out by the fortress' weapons.

Fate looked back at Tsukuyomi, seeing how the girl was clutching onto the swords, bliss on her face. With her inhibitions gone, it was highly possible the girl now saw her weapons as instruments of pleasure as much as instruments of death. Fate eventually made his decision.

"_Fortes fortuna adiuvat."_ he thought. Fortune favours the bold. If he couldn't get hold of those notes his life and Tsukuyomi's sanity was forever forfeit.

* * *

Asuna slammed the door shut with a bang and walked straight over to her bed where she collapsed with a groan. After only about a week she was rapidly heading towards a metal breakdown. She had just spent two hours "inspecting the royal navy" which meant visiting every last of the floating rust-buckets her people still kept in the air somehow, making small sounds of "oh", "I see", and "good to hear" at fitting times.

What the heck did she know about these things? She didn't know the first thing about normal ships, the kind that travelled on water. What was she meant to do with floating such? A headache was rapidly building and Asuna felt like something was wrong. Weren't they at war? Wasn't there meant to be more actual fighting and less pomp and ceremony? Yes they were in the middle of the mountains, the front lines were far away, bla bla bla, but Asuna still felt like the whole thing was stupid.

A small whine beside her made her look up and she saw Kotaro standing by the bed, the large canine looking at her with worry in his yellow eyes. Asuna smiled a bit before she sat up and patted her lap. Kotaro eagerly accepted the invitation and put his large head on her lap, settling down by the bed. A happy sigh came from his lips as Asuna begun to scratch him behind the ears and she could feel his entire body relaxing.

To have Negi's old friend resting his head on her lap like this felt weird to say the least. She had felt very uncomfortable about the whole thing initially but Kotaro's pleading eyes were hard to say no to. It really seemed as if he was through and through an animal now and Asuna had begun to try to see him as that. She didn't know much about dogs but she guessed that if you tried to treat an animal as a human it would be as off as if you tried to treat a human as an animal. The fact that most other people did that as well helped her a lot. Only two days ago Yuuto had tried to bathe him in fact. The resulting hilarity had left Asuna gasping for air as she had fallen to the floor in wild paroxysms of laughter.

Also, to have the giant dog resting with his head in her lap was really comforting to Asuna as well. To just sit here, with Kotaro's head in her lap and feel how he loved every second of the scratching did a lot to alleviate all the stress of the latest days. Asuna had been catapulted into the role of a princess and spent her days now in exquisite clothes of a kind she hadn't seen outside of movies before. She was meeting people, having tons of things explained to her and even, for some bloody reason, had to study like crazy.

Study! She, the foremost of the baka-rangers, had to study! That was the first time she felt like the situation she was in was totally messed up. She was so grateful Takahata-sensei was here, the man had more or less thrown the teachers assigned to her (there was another thing, if she was the ruler, how come everything was decided for her?) out of the room headfirst and assumed command over her studies with the kind of grim attitude and finality she'd expect from someone leading an army into their final battle or whatever. He was now, with the kind of endless patience needed when dealing with an idiot of her calibre, guiding her through all the endless blather she was meant to know as a princess.

If he hadn't been here... Asuna shuddered to think of what would have happened then. The incident a few days ago with that old woman Sylgja was probably a good indication. Kurt had been more or less remote-controlling her via telepathy, giving her very clear instructions on what to do. From the praying thing when the old woman came in to the way Asuna had addressed her, it had all been an act, at least up until Asuna had totally lost it. A small giggle escaped her at the memory of how Kurt had pretty much gotten a heart attack when she punched Sylgja and even when it all had worked out the man had been so broken down that he had left without a word.

Asuna stopped herself now, realizing how strange it was. She still couldn't quite grasp the fact that she had only a week ago been in a state of grief-induced catatonia. Was that the word? Yes, catatonia, Takahata-sensei had told her that was the word. Either way, one week, one week and now she was back here giggling and worrying about studying. It was weird, creepy even. Thinking back on all the terrible things that had happened, it was almost as if her mind unconsciously slid away from them, instead landing in happier memories. Even when she focused, it was as if she was unable to remember the terrible things that had happened, she was forcibly redirected, her attempts to swim against the currents washing her away from the painful memories futile.

What had that old man done to her? Thinking back again, Asuna almost felt as if she was mentally slipping on ice whenever she tried to remember. Furrowing her brow, she focused. She was happy to be sane but why couldn't she even access the memories? It was her memories, who she was, why couldn't she remember it? She had spent the last ten years with her memories sealed off, she didn't want that to happen again. Pushing herself, she tried to force herself to remember. It frightened her to not remember now. If she didn't have her memories she didn't have anything. She needed to know!

She remembered Negi, how he had come to Mahora, how she had discovered he was a wizard and everything that had happened after that. She slowly started to follow her memories of him, eventually reaching the cataclysm caused by his fall to the taint. Now something started to strain, it was as if she was pushed back, but Asuna kept going. Finding her fingers clenching in Kotaro's fur, she tried to remember that time below Mahora, when she... when she had been tortured by Negi. She hated that memory, but she couldn't be without it.

She did remember that it had happened, but the pain, the grief, the horror, it was blocked off, she slid way from the memories. She couldn't find her own memories. Asuna suddenly found herself feeling frustration, why was she unable to remember? What had that old man done to her?

It was then that Kotaro stood up. His head left her lap as he bounced to his feet. Stepping forwards, the massive canine blocked the way to the window and a growl escaped him. Asuna startled, standing up with her heart skipping a beat. Standing only just as tall so that she could look over Kotaro's shoulder when he was hunching down, Asuna could see the window. The mists had crept in again but now Asuna could see vague shapes in it. Blinking, she started to feel a sense of worry. Kotaro, meanwhile, started to growl even louder, focused on the window with all his being. The air begun to sizzle around him as his power awoke.

Asuna then saw a shape in the window. The rough outline of a person could be seen there. The figure seemed to be looking inside the window and Asuna could see how it raised its hands, putting them together and bowing. It was clearly a gesture of respect, Asuna could see that even though she couldn't see who it was. Now the figure reached up, gently touching the window and tapping it. A light, tapping sound went through the room and Asuna swallowed. Did it want her to open? Glancing at Kotaro, she put a hand on him and made him calm down. She stepped up to the window, looking closer at the figure even though she still kept Kotaro close at hand. Yet, even up close she couldn't see any actual traits in the figure, not even if it was a man or a woman. Asuna eventually reached for the window, opening it only a pair of inches and quickly latching the window so it couldn't be opened any more. Talking a reflexive step back, she looked at the figure again. It hadn't moved from its spot.

"Salutations, you who are of the sun." the figure said, it's voice wispy, seemingly distant. "The caution shown towards this one is prudent, yet unneeded. This one holds no ill intent towards you."

"Who are you?" Asuna asked, her hand clenching in Kotaro's fur. Damn her curiosity, shouldn't she have yelled for the guards or something? Oh well, the die was cast and all that, might as well roll with it.

"This one wishes an answer could be given." the figure said, "Yet this one cannot tell you the answer, for this one does not know." Asuna swallowed again now. Yet another of these creepy feelings had come to her. What was the deal with these mountains and creepiness?

"Well what do you want then?" she continued, Kotaro fidgeting beside her.

"While this one cannot tell you who, this one can tell you what." the figure said, it's archaic, strange way of speaking almost singing "This one is of mists and mystery, of shadow and secrecy, this one is of dimvakt, known to you and your kin as mistguard."

"Mistguard..." Asuna startled, remembering the figures pointed out to her standing on the top of the spires of Othila whenever mist crept in. "Well jeez, say so earlier!" She felt relief now, knowing full well what the mistguard had done for her people. Without them the druids apparently would have been all over the, eager to burn Othila down. Walking over to the window, Asuna opened it. "Come in." she told the figure.

"This one gives you thanks." the figure said, "but no, this one will stay here, forgive the impertinence." Asuna blinked, knowing how bloody cold these mists could be. And the figure wasn't even gonna warm him/herself? "This one cannot stay long." the figure continued now, "yet a message must be given before this one departs."

"What is that?" Asuna asked, already feeling the cold creep inside. Her voice shivered a bit even now. Yet the figure hadn't shown the least signs of discomfort.

"In your arrival here many seeds were sown." the figure said, "In the soil of time now rests hope, rests future, rests freedom. The garden is yours to tend, yours to reap. Your harvest will be our nourishment, therefore mistguard will tend to it."

"What...?" Asuna ended up stupidly blinking, not getting anything of what the figure was saying.

"Mistguard stands by your side." the figure continued, "For the one who are of the sun the mystery is the greatest weapon. What is seen is known, quantified, understood, what is unseen is none of that. This is the creed, this is the gift. Now this one must depart." the figure continued, stepping back and beginning to seemingly fading into the mists. "Tend to your fields princess," the figure's parting words were. "Mistguard has starved for so long..." with that, it disappeared, the last outline dissolving back into the thick mists outside the window.

* * *

Walking down the street, Evangeline pushed up the magical eyeglasses she wore. Really quite an intriguing invention, these glasses. As long as they stayed on and she didn't make a scene not one person would recognize her. Even in this crowded city marketplace she was only little more than invisible to people around her. To move without being seen in the bustling streets of Nyandom wasn't something easily achieved. The recently repaired Chachamaru walked beside her, the gynoid dressed in the maid clothes she was meant to wear. Evangeline had donned the gothic kind of clothes she never had quite gotten into before her imprisonment but come to enjoy through the loli-goth style she had discovered at Mahora.

In front of them a small street urchin was walking. The boy had harassed her as soon as she got off the airship, bragging about being the best tout in the area and stretching out his grubby little paws asking for money. It was a pity for him he had chosen to harass the maga nosferatu, Evangeline had enthralled his petty mind with one flick of her fingers and now the boy was guiding them to their destination with a vacant look on his face. Normally she wouldn't have bothered, she knew the streets here decently well. However she was currently looking for someone and wanted to find him fast.

Evangeline pushed her way past a pair of chattering old women that were moaning about something that had happened to the south, following the boy closely. She didn't see any reason to stay hidden or hide the fact that she was following the boy. Eventually leaving the marketplace, she followed the boy into the alleyways of the city. She was grateful for the chatter dying out when the boy took her inside the seedier back alleys that lay only a short walk from the bustling marketplace One second filled with life, the second an empty place were predators looked out of every shadow. Evangeline saw them, muggers, gang-members, rapists, drug-traders, whores. All sorts of scum were here and already many of them leered at her. The woman didn't show fear though, almost smiled. She hoped that some of these lowlifes would try their luck, she could use some more thralls for what was coming.

Sure enough, after a few seconds only a group of young men blocked her path. Clothed in garments just as stupid and overdone as these kinds of gangs always wore in both worlds, one of them leaned against the wall right in front of her with a smile he thought was suave but only came across as asinine. Behind her Chachamaru was about to move but Evangeline stopped her with a signal

"Not very safe to be walking the back-alleys here is it?" he said and Evangeline raised an amused eyebrow at him.

"I'll give you three seconds." she said, smiling at the boy. "you're too young to throw away your life." Honestly, this brat couldn't be older than eighteen years old. She'd give him one chance, a small chance. If he ran now he'd at least be smart, there were too many of these thugs that weren't. It'd be a nice experiment, to see if "living in the light" and giving the little twit a chance meant something. The boy only jeered at her however.

"Wizard huh?" he said before his hands slammed down to grab her wrists. Tearing them up, he held them above her head. "Don't be like that sweetie, let's have some fun." He said now, thinking that holding her wrists would make it impossible for her to reach for a wand. Not that foolish, but against her it was. The boy had wasted his chance and Evangeline snapped her fingers. A split-second later the boy's eyes widened and his entire body tensed. The grips around her wrists became cramp-like and soon loosened. Stepping back with a jerking motion, the boy groaned before Evangeline twisted his finger, making the boy fall to the ground in a rough, kneeling gesture.

Around them the other gang-members realized something was up. The small fries had realized a bigger fish had swum into their waters and some of them stepped back in shock and fear. So useless, at the first sign of danger they wanted to flee. Evangeline didn't give them the chance to do that however, with a flick of her wrist she send out more of her threads. Within a second every last one of the boys in the alleyway were ensnared by her. Some of them resisted, the others fell in a second, all of them became her thralls.

"What the..." the boy kneeling at her feet said now. Evangeline smiled to herself now and took one step forwards, putting her high-heeled foot below the boy's down-turned face. "What did you..." Impressive that he could still speak. Evangeline answered him.

"You picked on the wrong woman boy." she said smugly as she removed her glasses. "For that mistake, you are now my plaything. I am Evangeline A.K McDowell," she introduced herself, the sudden fear emanating from the boy as soon as she was finished was almost palpable. "The maga nosferatu. And you are now "dog"." She raised her foot slightly, "Go on, show your love of your mistress now." she ordered him. The threads were sinking into his mind more and more, first robbing him of movement, then of will, then of even thought. If she let it go that far of course. This time she didn't, the boy was perfectly aware as he slowly bent down, kissing her foot with a trembling, slaving devotion. Evangeline's smile widened, she had forgotten how fun this was.

A few minutes later a door deep inside the alleyways of Nyandom slammed open. The storeroom inside was occupied by several large men and they all got up when the door opened. Several of them held weapons in their hands, alerted by the sudden opening. What they weren't expecting however was that the room in mere seconds would become flooded.

Leaping, running, crawling, through the door a veritable horde of gang-members came pouring. They moved with supernatural agility and speed, managing to enter the room by the dozens in mere moments. Shocked by the sudden, instant attack, many of the thugs inside the room were unable to mount any sort of resistance before they were taken down by the attackers. They were beaten unconscious with improvised weapons or even bare hands. The few that remained only had enough time before they too fell to see the eyes of the attackers, empty, vacant eyes. Had there been time, the cry of "thralls" would have echoed through the room. As it was, none had the time and soon the thralls crashed through the other doors of the building.

Evangeline smiled as she entered, happy to see that her puppeteer skills was not diminished even after all these years. The now bloodied and bruised people lying unconscious all over the room hadn't stood a chance. Walking over the bodies, the immortal woman enjoyed the sounds of fighting spreading through the building. The people she made her thralls became immensely much faster and stronger as their bodies were pressed to the limit. Against lowlifes like these they'd be invincible.

"The thralls have spread through the building." Chachamaru reported as she walked into the room, looking in all directions as her surveillance equipment kept track of the slaves' process. Evangeline was delighted to have the gynoid back, she was easily the most useful servant the vampiress had possessed. She admitted she owed Hakase one for the idea of adding a small, nearly indestructible hard-drive to Chachamaru's internal systems that would make a swift backup of the personality and memory files whenever the damages to her systems became critical. Thanks to that Chachamaru's personality had survived the destruction of her chassis and now she was back, upgraded and improved, a fitting handmaiden for her, the queen of the night.

"A pity..." Evangeline found herself smirking. Chachamaru noticed this quickly, hearing the tone in Evangeline's voice

"Mistress?" she asked, looking back at Evangeline.

"I probably shouldn't have expected too much." Evangeline said, "Yet I did hope for at least some challenge. Something more than mere thugs would have made this all the more amusing.

"There might still be time for that mistress." the gynoid said, her eyes flickering with lights as she switched between modes of vision. "I detect several minor magic emissions from the basement, there appears to be wizards present there.

"Is that so..." Evangeline purred now. Smiling, she redirected her servants with a few subtle finger motions that pulled at the threads wrapped around her fingers. As one, the thralls begin to head towards the basement, running towards whatever entrance that were closest to them.

Down in the basement there were little in the way of smiles however. In the large room that made up all of the basement mages were hurriedly putting up defensive barriers, their chants frantic and their hands trembling. Already several thralls had gotten into the cellar and were pounding at the barriers already up, many of them were beating the expensive furniture on their side of the barrier to pieces to create makeshift weapons. Behind the mages another group of thugs, these ones better equipped, stood, clenching their weapons with cramp-like grips. A large, fat man with brown skin, white hair and horns was rapidly pushing at a button in the wall at the far end of the room. .

"Come on, come on, come on!" the man muttered as the wall right next to him slowly swung open, revealing a hidden passage way. "aha!" he yelled, moving to enter the passageway as a cry could be heard from behind.

"Oh taint!" the outburst of shock and fear was enough to make the man look back for one second to see the figure that had just entered the room. She was tall, tall, blonde, and beautiful. Clothed in elegant black clothes, her voluptuous figure was nevertheless strongly accentuated. What more, she had one hand raised towards them, shards of the once potent barriers flying through the air as it had come undone within moments. Already the thralls were upon the mages, taking them down with speed and power, and a green-haired woman was halfway through the last line of thugs. The woman moved with speed beyond what the fat man had seen in years, sending them flying in all directions.

The fat man moved quickly however, during the few seconds that the green-haired woman spent dealing with the other thugs he dashed into the tunnel and pulled a lever. The wall started to slide back into place, this time faster.

"Better luck next time!" he yelled as the green-haired woman looked up from the last defeated thug. He was safe, not even she could reach him this fast. The wall was only a few decimetres from having closed completely, however, when the green-haired woman raised her hand. To the man's astonishment, the hand shot out from her wrist, straight at him, and before he realized what had happened her hand was clenched in a steel grip around his throat, a powerful wire extending from the wrist and leading back to the woman's arm.

Now the man fell down, unable to move or even breathe as the grip nearly crushed his throat. The wall was unable to close completely due to the steel wire wedged in the opening. His both hands flew up to the hand gripping him and be begun to frantically tear at it to no avail. Soon he saw how fingers wrapped themselves into the opening and with one, deafening roar the secret door was torn off its hinges. Seemingly effortlessly, the green-haired woman had torn apart the large door and now she was holding the other arm towards her, the wire retracting into the arm and pulling him into the room.

Being dragged along the floor like a rag, the man was eventually pulled up when the wrist reconnected with the rest of the arm without even loosing the grip on him. He ended up kneeling in front of the green-haired woman, facing her emotionless gaze with one filled with fear.

"Nikodemos the information-broker I presume?" a deep, sensual voice asked behind the green-haired woman, who tore him around to face the other woman, the blonde one. Amongst his beaten muscle and the enthralled thugs that had attacked them the woman stood with her arms crossed and a smirk on her lips.

"You... you don't know who you're messing with..:" the man answered, if he survived this he'd call upon every last of his contacts, this bitch would suffer for this! The woman only laughed however.

"Oh I know..." she smirked. "A fat degenerate of a small-time crook who thinks he's something just because he has the brains to realize information is worth something in and of itself. But tell me..." she leaned forwards, ending up at eye-level with him. "Do you know who I am? It should be fairly obvious to someone of your knowledge."

The man only stared at her at first, not saying anything. In the dread silence that had replaced the savage chaos caused by the fighting all that could be heard was the man's hoarse breathing. The entire room was devastated, the furniture broken, the cushions flung all over the place, the carpets torn and all over the place unconscious or dead people were lying. The man's eyes were flickering up and down, left and right, as he seemed to think of something. Eventually he gasped.

"Oh gods..." he said, a tremor appearing in his voice as he connected the dots. Her appearance, her enthralling of others, her immense power. The pieces fell in place and Nikodemos almost whimpered in fear, realizing that the woman in front of him was one of the most dreaded of all dark mages, the advent of calamity, the dark evangel, Evangeline A.K. McDowell!

"Good." the vampiress purred now, "It seems as though you remember, that will make my business here all the easier." she reached out to stroke the man's cheek now, capturing it in a vice-like grip. "I am looking for someone, someone that I know is in the magic world, somewhere. If you value your continued existence, you will find him for me."

"Wh... who?" Nikodemos asked, paralysed with fear.

"Nagi Springfield." Evangeline said, her eyes darkening. "He's somewhere in this world and you will find him. I will not tolerate failure."

* * *

"Mama..." the twisted, mutilated thing whimpered, slowly crawling over the ash-covered ground. It reached out with its long, tentacle-like arms, trying to get to its mommy. In its beady, black eyes fear and sadness could be seen and all over its body open wounds were bleeding. Its mother reached for it, desperately trying to get to her child. The blasted wasteland around them was filled with the sounds of dying and screaming creatures and the skies torn by black storm clouds even though the wind was so still that the silence was deafening.

"It's okay baby..." the creature's mother said, raising the thing in her arms and comforting it as best as she could, trembling fear and grief in her voice "you'll be fine, mommy is here."

"Mama..." the little thing said, it's body beginning to churn. "It hurts, mama... it hurts..." the creature had no time to say anything else before it fell asunder. It's unnatural, twisted body fell apart, becoming ashes that ran between the mother's arms and fingers.

"No!" the creature's mother cried, denial and despair in her voice as her baby died. "No, no no no no, please god no please!" she threw herself at the ground, beginning to furiously scoop up the ashes, whispering soothing words while she did it. Her voice shivered however, desperation, grief and horror robbing it of all soothing qualities. "It's all right baby, mommy's here, please come back, mommy's here!" she ended up screaming, tears flowing freely down her face as she stared at the ashes of her baby .

"Mama..." another voice could be heard now, this one deeper, more powerful, yet as weak and shivering. As the mother's head snapped open and stared to the right. There, far away, a large, quivering pile of flesh could be seen. It was impossible to identify it as any kind of living being that existed yet the mother's eyes shot wide open.

"No!" she screamed, stumbling to her feet and towards the thing. She only got a few steps however before another voice came.

"Mama!" This one was a hissing whisper, loud but filled with pain, an agonised shriek. The mother's head snapped to look at the large, snake-like thing that lay with half it's body torn off far away. She stopped in her tracks, staring between them, not knowing what to do. Two of her babies were dying, yet she could only get to one.

"Mama..." yet more cries came. From behind her a tiny voice could be heard croaking, in the distance a wailing sound cried out for her. The cries for her were everywhere, her babies were dying, they were all dying, her beloved little ones died and she could do nothing! In despair and confusion, the mother ended up falling to her knees, clutching her ears as she tried to shut out the screams. Yet they only kept coming, more and more of them. A terrifying cacophony of cries came from dying monsters as they all cried for their mother and their mother screamed, screamed in pain and grief over her babies deaths, over the impossible in choosing where to run first and in horror over the entire thing. She screamed, screamed as if she hoped it could stop it all, screamed as the ashen fields fell into pieces around her and the void opening under her, screamed as she fell into the abyss, screamed as the abyss vanished around, her being replaced by a soft bed and sheets.

"Ojou-sama!" Konoka's eyes shot open at once, returning to reality in an instant. Panting, it took her several seconds to realize where she was. Looking around with her eyes wide and sweat running down her brow, she realized that she was in the dinghy hotel room she and Setsuna had gotten in the seedier parts of Tokyo, in the two-bed room with it's worn curtains, smelly bathroom and creaking beds. Setsuna was sitting at her bedside, her hands firmly planted on Konoka's shoulders. The samurai had shaken her awake, worry and concern in her eyes. "Ojou-sama, are you all right?" Setsuna asked Konoka.

Seeing her close friend's concern, Konoka's eyes misted up and she reached up now, wrapping her arms around Setsuna with a sob. Beginning to cry, she buried her face in Setsuna's shoulder and clutched her friend as close as she could. She was so terrified and shaken that it as all she could do, seeking comfort in her close friend's embrace. Setsuna ended up returning the embrace, holding Konoka close to her and whispering words of comfort into her ear. She reached back and stroked Konoka's hair as she whispered, doing everything she could for her friend.

"There there Kono-chan..." she whispered, "It's over, it was just a dream, nothing more." Konoka trembled in her arms, the girl shivering like a leaf. Sobs racked her body and it took her over a minute to even be able to respond.

"Th...they called to me Set-chan..." the girl sobbed now, her voice quivering with despair and grief. "I can't stop it," she continued, whimpering like a little child "they begged me to save them..." the girl got no further now, breaking down into crying again. Setsuna rocked Konoka in her arms, continuing to try to calm her. Konoka did notice how damp and warm Setsuna seemed but she was so broken down that she didn't manage to react on it.

"It was not real Kono-chan..." Setsuna whispered tenderly, "it was just your imagination playing tricks on you. It wasn't real..."

"It's not..." Konoka sniffed, regaining only a little composure as she clung to Setsuna's warm, damp shoulders, "I heard them for real... when Negi-sensei took me... they were real...!" she screamed now, sobbing as she had to take a few moments to regain enough composure to even press forth words. "I gave birth to them.." she cried. "They were my babies..." She burst into tears again and pressed her face into her friend`s chest. Her next words were muffled but they made even Setsuna shiver. She wasn't sure if they were from pity, horror, disgust or even perhaps jealousy. "They were part of me. They grew and then they became real and..." The last part was inaudible. Konoka kept crying now, remaining in tears for more than a minute. Her sobs echoed through the night and Setsuna kept rocking her, supporting her friend in the only way she could.

After countless tears and sobs Konoka found that she had no more tears to cry. The horrors of the dream had taken its toll and she felt exhausted, empty. She remained leaning against Setsuna's shoulder, not having the strength to move for a while. Setsuna remained holding her however, patiently stroking Konoka's hair without showing the least signs of hesitation or discomfort.

It was first after several minutes that Konoka managed to calm down enough to think straight. The girl managed to gain enough of a grip on things to process reality again and the first thing her thoughts, still filled with the grief and horror of that nightmare, went to was the feeling of Setsuna's skin. She was warm, almost feverish, and the dampness was not just dampness, but wetness. Her hair was soaking and cold as well. Leaning back a little to get a look, Konoka was shocked when she saw that Setsuna was completely naked, water still dripping off her.

"S-Set-chan!"she squealed in shock, Setsuna seemingly not caring the least about the fact that she was naked. "Wh-wh-what are you...!" She hadn't expected that, not at all, and Setsuna's face showed no embarrassment whatsoever.

"I was in the shower when I heard you." she said, as if that explained everything. "Do you feel calmer now?" she continued now, "Do you want something to drink?" Konoka blinked, staring at her friend. The total lack of embarrassment on Setsuna's part made her so shocked that for a second she stopped thinking about the dream.

"P-put some clothes on!" she said after a second, being surprised yet again when Setsuna left the bed instantly, obliging with her wish in moments. Before long, she sat on the bed again, a towel wrapped around her body. It wasn't like the command had confused her or as if it was a strange order. It had been comprehended and obeyed instantly. The clarity with which Setsuna understood that her nudity was a problem for Konoka contrasted with her utter dismissal of it personally.

Either way, her friend was clothed again and Konoka wasn't calm enough to think any deeper on the issue, instead taking a deep breath. Slowly shaking her head, she felt like she didn't know what she was doing. Currently hiding at a dinghy hotel most normal people wouldn't ever go to, the two girls were pretty much dangling themselves in front of organized crime and all the kinds of lowlives drifting around here. And for what reason? A dream and nothing more...

"Are you sure you feel like you can go through with this Kono-chan?" Setsuna asked, worry evident in her eyes. Konoka nodded however.

"I have to..." she whispered, "That dream... it wasn't just a dream, I can feel it." she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest and with her arms resting on them as she thought back on the dream. She had been standing on a storm-torn plain, seeing how Asuna stood, surrounded by figures. She had fought, desperately, but more and more she had been worn down by blow after blow, in the end falling and being swallowed by darkness. In and of itself the images in the dream were not horrifying; it was the sensations that had come along with it. Konoka had known, with every fiber of her being, that it was more than a dream. Setsuna seemed a bit hesitant to accept it but didn't object.

"I suppose that might be true." she said after a while, slowly nodding. "It wouldn't be any stranger than the other things that have happened." Konoka smiled a bit now, grateful for her friend's support. Yet Setsuna wasn't done quite yet. "But Ojou-sama…" she begun, hesitant to speak of what she feared. Konoka eventually had to lean forward and put a hand on her friend's shoulder, motioning for her to continue. Setsuna took a deep breath now. "This power…" she begun, "Is not yours. You possess it, true. The insight and the control, it doesn't come from studies or any such thing, it comes from _him._ Please forgive me Ojou-sama, but what if something happens, what if there's something more that remains inside you except for the control?"

Konoka fell silent, knowing full well what her friend meant. Within her soul power had always rested; more power than even the Thousand Master's according to her father and grandfather. If she had been trained in its use she would have been more powerful than even Negi-sensei had been years ago. But she hadn't been, her father wanted her to have a shot at being a normal girl, meaning that Konoka hadn't been taught magic. Due to that she had been powerless before her enslavement. But after the nightmarish events of Mahora, where she had been the slave of their fallen sensei, Konoka had not gone back to being a normal girl. The fallen Negi-sensei had done something to her, awakened her mind and soul to the powers within her, and when he had died Konoka had kept those things. It had come out of nowhere, like an abyss filled with blindingly bright light that had opened up in front of her. She had all this power now, could direct it with pinpoint accuracy. Along with in had come a strange change in perspective. Konoka didn't see the world around herself in the same way now, feeling like a curtain had been pulled back and she now could see so much more than ever before.

More power than even the thousand master, control to wield it nigh flawlessly and insight into the very flow of time; the Konoka that had come back from her enslavement was not the same as the one who had gone into it, not by far. Konoka looked out through the window, a thoughtful look on her face. There was no way for Setsuna to know just what she was thinking of but soon, very soon, the samurai girl felt something. There was a rumbling in the air, a deep, deep undercurrent that ran seemingly below the very surface of creation, deep inside reality, in the core of things. Unlike what Setsuna had felt at Mahora it was subtle, almost peaceful, but it was still primal and intense. The girl's face was peaceful and not a sign could be seen on her face as she rattled the very creation around them. Setsuna felt nervousness creep into her, how powerful was Konoka now? More powerful than Negi-sensei had been, than even his father? What could she do to protect a magical leviathan such as the one sitting and looking towards the windows now?

Yet, the rumbling ceased and Konoka turned to look at Setsuna with a bright smile.

"I don't think you need to worry Set-chan." She said, "It's still my power. I'm stronger than him, all I got was the know-how and whatever it might do to me, I can deal with it."

"Are you sure of that?" Setsuna asked and Konoka smiled even more now.

"When I woke up after Mahora I couldn't see…" she admitted, Setsuna blinking. "Somehow it was as if my eyes refused to work, they just wouldn't see. That was the first time I used the power, somehow I made myself see again. I just pictured how my eyes worked and pushed. And as you can see it worked." She turned to Setsuna and winked. "Besides, I have you to help me along, don't I?" she added, forcing Setsuna to smile somewhat.

"Always Kono-chan." She said, inclining her head somewhat towards Konoka, showing that she answered as a samurai as well as a friend. .

"Goodie!" Konoka said, getting out of bed. "Wanna go get some breakfast?" She asked, the signs of a terrifying nightmare having awoken her only minutes ago nonexistent. Setsuna nodded, not speaking any more of it. It had been like this during the weeks after Mahora, Konoka awoke terrified but would be fine after a while, the bad dreams fading into nothing.

Konoka and Setsuna both got dressed now, Konoka putting on the long stockings, the knee-length skirt and the long-sleeved shirt she wore and Setsuna donning her more utilitarian trousers and shirt.

Even though the hotel was a dinghy, run-down place they at least served decent breakfast. It wasn't like the lunch room was much to look at though, a few steel tables and a bunch of white, plastic chairs, it looked like it has been scavenged together.

When Setsuna and Konoka entered the breakfast room it wasn't this they noticed though, not by far. Instead they noticed three of the people currently eating by one of the tables. Konoka stopped dead in her tracks and Setsuna almost stumbled, her mouth wide open.

By the table closest to the windows three girls were sitting. The first was a tall, muscular girl with tanned body, long hair and eyes intense enough to drill a hole through someone. She was clothed in sturdy black leather pants and jacket and wore a sleeveless top beneath said jacket as well as fingerless leather gloves. The second was as tall and even more curvy, her brown hair short except for the long ponytail hanging from the back of her hair. In contrast with the first girl she wore a school uniform, only that it was one seemingly belonging in WW2 times. Lastly was a girl who was in sharp contrast to the first two where stature was concerned. She was much shorter and lither, her blonde hair sitting in two short pigtails. Her clothes consisted of a yellow Chinese kung-fu outfit.

"Good morning you two." Kaede said as Konoka and Setsuna entered, Ku Fei waving at them in greeting at the same time "Did you sleep well?" she added as they both startled and stared in shock at the three classmates.

"Wh-wh-wh-what?" Setsune exclaimed now, staring at them in shock. What in the name of… why were they here? She and Konoka had sneaked out of Mahora in total secrecy! There was no one that had known of their departure! But why were they sitting here now? Mana put down the coffee she had been drinking and held out a letter towards them when the two came up to the table.

"We're on the job." She said with her usual dispassionate tone. "The details are in here, for Konoe-san's eyes only." She added as Setsuna moved to take the letter. Setsuna froze right before she touched the letter and withdrew one instant later. Konoka looked at the letter for a second, uncertainty written in her face. However she took it in the end and opened it. Folding the paper open, she read the letter with bit of a furrow in her eyes, the contents making it disappear quickly though.

_Dear child,_ the letter said.

_Know well that I cannot put myself between you and the path you feel you walk. The day your eyes opened to the flow of time I lost that right. You have transcended into another realm, one that will be a grave challenge for you to live in. This letter I cannot write merely as your grandfather, it is in equal measure from one seer to another._

_Beware of interfering with fate. Remember Balder, who died even though his mother went through all of creation to persuade every living thing she could find to not harm him. Remember Oedipus, who ended up killing his father and marrying his mother precisely because his father tried to interfere with his son's fate to do that. If you wanted, you could make your friend utterly unstoppable, a scourge conquering the entire world. Yet the price for that would be too great. Fate brooks no interference and the price for meddling will be a high one to pay for all those you have touched. _

_Prudence and gentleness is the keywords you must live after and above all else, detachment. However hard it will be, do not ever manipulate what comes directly, no matter what the gains will be, down that road lies destruction. When you reach your friend your aid will be invaluable to her, however do not ever forget to be very aware of what exact kind of help you are giving. _

_Giving dire warnings is not why I sent you this letter though. Along with it I send you the best aid I can give you. You might not have known it, but these three girls along with your friend are some of Mahora's finest warriors, each of them. They will see to it that you arrive safely at your destination or they will die trying. As horrible as saying so might sound; that is the reality you are in and I have a feeling you already understand this._

_Good luck my beloved child, my thoughts are with you, now and always. _

_Konoemon Konoe_

_P.S. Do not worry about your father. I will take care of him. _

Konoka read the letter with tears starting to form in her eyes and when she was done she had to focus in order to not cry. Kaede reached out beneath the table with one of her long legs and pushed out one of the chairs to give the girl somewhere to sit. Konoka sunk down in the chair and nodded in thanks, Setsuna putting a hand on her shoulder now. The girl held the letter close to her chest now, almost as if she sought comfort from it, and a sob soon escaped her.

It never went any further than that though, the girl gritted her teeth and forced the tears back. She instead wiped them with her sleeve and looked at the three girls sitting around the table. Setsuna's hand still rested on her shoulder, giving her strength.

"Do you know where I'm going?" she asked now, Mana nodding.

"The magic world, mundus magicus." the mercenary girl said with her usual cool manner. "You're going to look for Kagurazaka Asuna."

"That's right." Konoka said. "Asuna-chan will be there and I need to go to her."

"What are your sources?" Mana asked now, raising one eyebrow. "I did some investigating myself when she vanished and turned up nothing. You seem quite certain of this though, do you have any sources I don't know of?"

Konoka nodded, a smile coming up on the girl's face. "Yeah, he was gonna meet us here now actually." she said, making Ku Fei look around.

"I no see him." the girl said after a second, "How he look?" she asked. Konoka giggled.

"Well..." she said, "He's very short, white, and he has dark eyes."

"Was he going to be clothed in anything special?" Mana asked, "Something to recognize him through?"

"Nope." Konoka said, smiling even more brightly, "In fact, I expect him to be naked." Mana choked upon the large espresso she was sipping from now and Kaede opened one eye in surprise. Ku Fei actually almost jumped out of her seat in shock. "Oh!" Konoka said now, seeing something outside the windows. "There he is!" she hurried out of the chair and to the windows, the trio of girls at the table all snapping to look out of the window in shock. The window they were sitting by faced a small garden where the most notable feature was a small cherry tree. There was no naked person though.

Now Konoka forced up one of the windows and from the tree something leaped almost instantly, straight at her. Mana was out of her chair in only a second, reaching for a gun inside her jacket, but Setsuna stopped her calmly but firmly by gripping her hand. The jumper could land on Konoka uninterrupted and show itself to the others properly. Holding up one arm, Konoka gave the newcomers a better look on the small ermine that now balanced on it.

"This is Chamo." Konoka said as the small ermine rose up on it's hind legs and raised one paw in an eerily human gesture. "He's gonna help us get where we need to be."

* * *

You know the drill people, feel free to comment and have opinions on any and all things. I accept all criticism (flamers will have my personal pack of trolls sicced on them though :P).


	16. This is me now

Chapter 16: This is me now

* * *

Asuna awoke from her sleep when someone knocked on her door. She startled a bit, her eyes snapping open. For a second she couldn't make out anything, her room was pitch black and only the moonlight coming in through the window could grant any sort of illumination. She could heard movement inside the room though, Kotaro's massive body shifting as the animal no doubt looked up and at the door. The knocking didn't abate though and Asuna slowly sat up, blinking.

"Who is it?" she said loudly, feeling annoyed. After all these things that happened during the days she valued her sleep more than ever before. Some small voice in the back of her head reminded her that apparently she could have whoever it was whipped now. She wasn't that angry though, not quite, but the voice that answered her from beyond the door pushed her pretty damn far in that direction.

"It is me, your highness, Kurt Goedel." the velvety, slippery voice of the bespectacled old associate of Takahata-sensei said. "Please forgive me, but I have to talk to you." Asuna felt her eyes narrow and Kotaro, seemingly picking up on her anger, bared his teeth a bit.

"It's in the middle of the night!" Asuna answered with a bit of venom in her voice. "Whatever you have to say can wait until tomorrow!" enough was enough, who the hell did he think he was. Waking her in the middle of the night was too bloody far gone already. For a moment the room was silent and Asuna rolled her eyes before she yawned and turned around to lie down again. Kurt wasn't done though.

"It cannot!" he said, there being something frantic in his voice. "Your highness, we must leave now!"

She didn't trust him, she didn't even like him, but Kurt's words were sincere, at least as far as she could hear. Asuna eventually sighed and got out of the bed, slipping into a comfortable robe lying on the chair nearby. Still, it was with some muttering that she opened the door somewhat to look at Kurt. The man was standing in the lit hallway, making Asuna flinch at the light and be blinded for a second.

"Forgive me once again." Kurt said, "But you must come with me, now." his voice was still frantic. He sounded as if they were under attack, something that made Asuna suspicious.

"Why?" Asuna said, "Isn't this place the safest there is? I don't hear explosions."

"It's not that your highness." the man said, speaking quickly but calmly. "An unprecedented opportunity has arisen and your royal self is needed there. We don't have much time, I'll explain while we're going."

"Going where?" Asuna said, now following. What was happening now? Yet, she did walk back and got herself dressed, slipping into the more casual traveling robe she had worn while getting here and which she way preferred to the gaudy stuff she usually had to wear.. The experiences she had had the last few days was that it was best to shut up and listen whenever Kurt or Takeda spoke. She couldn't really deny that, they knew what they were doing after all. Slipping into her clothes, Asuna got out of the room about a minute later and Kurt led her out of the house.

The ship waiting for them didn't look much like what Asuna had expected. Instead of the large, bulky vessels she had seen thus far this one seemed a bit more agile. It was about five meters long, excluding the tail. Yes, tail, it was shaped much like some kind of manta ray, with a long tail and wings on both sides of the body. It seemed sleek, agile, more like a jet fighter than the lumbering giants Asuna had come to think of. At the moment the shape wasn't that interesting to her though. She quietly followed Kurt up the drawbridge that hung below it and ventured into the ship. The interior of the swift vessel reminded her in many ways of the cockpit of an aircraft. It might be a bit bigger, having four seats and some legroom, but not much more. Kotaro tried to follow her but the massive beast was too large to fit into the vessel. Kurt noticed this and shook his head.

"Your beast will not be able to fit in here." He said, "I chose this vessel for its speed, not its space. He will have to remain behind." Asuna glanced at the guy now, getting more and more suspicious.

"Okay." She said dryly, "You won't tell me where I'm going and I can't bring anyone else along. What are you up to?"

"I'll explain as we are going." Kurt said, motioning for her to move forward in the vessel to take a seat in one of the four seats up ahead. It turned out that two of them, the front seats, were already occupied by bergafolk warriors. Unlike normally, they weren't veiled and Asuna could clearly see their tanned and weather-bitten faces. Both of them had tattoos in said faces, one of a red dog-like creature and the other a blue one of what seemed like some winged beast, a gryphon or something.

"Sunrise is not far away." The gryphon-whatever-tattooed one said, "The ship won't be able to exit during the day so if we're gonna leave we better do it now"

"By the way." The other guy said, his voice being as hoarse as Asuna had ever heard someone. "We know you don't trust him, neither do we and if he tries anything we'll kill him. So just sit down."

Asuna blinked at this, the brutal honesty and bluntness of the bergafolk making itself evident once again. Beside her Kurt smiled, one of those mild, gentle smiles that seemed more as a way of irritating those who insulted him than anything else. Behind them, meanwhile, Kotaro started to try to wrangle his way into the ship again, giant claws scratching at the hull. Asuna had to turn around and tell him to stop. While Kotaro did look miserable when being told this he backed out and the drawbridge into the ship raised itself, closing.

Asuna took a glance at the pilot, surprised by the fact that both he and the guy sitting beside him were bergafolk. Weren't they meant to be tribal people? Where had they learned this? She eventually decided that she didn't care. She was too tired and as the ship started to vibrate, the engine beginning to produce a strange, singing sound, she decided to go back to sleep.

"How long does it take to get there?" she asked Kurt, who just had fastened his seat belt.

"Around two hours." He told her.

"And how long will the explanation take?" she continued, speaking with a tired voice as the ship started to move, rapidly accelerating across the city of Othila and heading for the mists that rested beyond the lake.

"A few minutes at most." She was told and she nodded.

"Good." She muttered, "wake me when we're drawing near." With that she turned and leaned back into the seat, closing her eyes and trying to go back to sleep. Her mind and body were both grateful for it and her eyes rapidly became heavier and heavier. Just before she fell asleep the ship crossed into the mists she could hear how a hoarse voice begun to chant. A slow, steady chant in some unknown language filled the cabin and Asuna found herself calmed by it, soon drifting off into sleep.

The sleep did not become calm though, instead it was fitful, unruly. Asuna dreamed, more vividly that she used to, disjointed images paraded around for her. It wasn't merely that they were scary; they were also so very intense. As disjointed as they were, they flashed in front of her mind's eye, intense enough to force their way into her mind and soul. Screams, the sounds of struggling, explosions, mists, blood, pain. The only thing that did not make it a nightmare was that the terror usually accompanying these visions was not there. Instead it was as if she dispassionately watched it all from a distance, like a TV-show. What did frighten her, however, was what came next. Alongside the visions came a voice, one she had heard before.

"_This one is impudent in committing these deeds."_A whispery voice said."_Yet this one begs your pardon, for this is the gift given. __What is seen is known, quantified, understood__. Behold what is._"

When the last syllable had touched Asuna's ears the girl startled back to consciousness, sitting up straight and gasping. The first thing she noticed was the light. The sun had risen over the mountains and night had become day. The second thing she saw, however, was that they were heading straight towards several large pillars of black smoke that rose from the valley up ahead.

"Are you all right your highness?" Kurt asked beside her, the man holding one hand up near her. It seemed as if he had been only a second away from shaking her awake. Asuna, still a bit disoriented, looked between him and the smoke for a short while.

"What the hell is that?" Asuna asked, pointing at the window. "Is THAT where we are going?" A tone of anger crept into her voice.

"Killzone Rivaren your highness." Kurt said, "The Megalomesembric ships are strong, fast and heavily armored. However they cannot climb too high up in the air due to this. In these mountains they are forced to stick to the passes and valleys, meaning that there are several areas where they are sitting ducks for ambushes. This is one of those areas." Up at the driver's seat the man with the dog tattoo pushed a pair of buttons on the instrument panel and put his hand on a small orb sticking out in the middle of said panel. After a second he looked back at Kurt and Asuna.

"The battle ended ten minutes ago." He said, "Total victory, the enemy were wiped out, no survivors."

"Excuse me!" Asuna shouted now, "Have I missed something, what the heck am I doing here?" Killzone? What was going on here? Kurt silenced her though, with one glare, as frigid and as intense as an arctic blizzard he made Asuna quiet down.

"You are ceasing this naivete and learning what is at stake." He said as the ship started to land by a large clearing that seemed to have been torn in the forest below. The formerly slippery man's voice was as harsh and cold as any she had ever heard. Asuna felt very vulnerable all of a sudden. She hadn't thought of the man as capable of anything more than slippery lying and warping facts. Yet the eyes with which he looked at her now told her, in no uncertain terms, that he was capable of much more. Yet then, only instants later, it was as if a second sun was lit inside the cabin. The ship touched down just as Asuna turned forwards to glance at what was happening.

In the front seats the two bergafolk warriors were sitting, glancing back into the cabin seemingly calmly. Yet the gleam in their eyes as they glared at Kurt was pure steel and Asuna could see in the reflection of the windows that one of them was holding a knife. Savage fury rested in those eyes, a primal challenge that made the air quiver with intensity.

"Don't." the gryphon-painted one said succinctly. "Sylgja declared her to be her equal, not you."

Kurt only smiled through, the intensity around him vanishing as quickly as it had come. In an instant, the challenge went from being that to what seemed like unprovoked hostility. What more, Kurt did not even seem to notice it as he got up and pushed the opening button.

"Shall we?" he asked Asuna, who quickly got out of the seat. While she still was both confused and angered by where she was it was ten times more important to her at the moment to get the heck out of here. The bloodthirst of the bergafolk warriors was enough to choke you even though it was not aimed at her.

She almost stumbled out of the ship but got to the ground without any accidents. The first thing she noticed was the thick smell of smoke. A thick, burnt and oily smell rested over the area, no doubt caused by whatever was burning some distance up ahead. She couldn't see far in the thick forest but she could see something was burning. Kurt was already walking towards it, having gotten so far away Asuna barely could see him amidst the thick vegetation.

"Hey! She yelled, beginning to run after him. She begun to feel uncertain, afraid. Wasn't this a battlefield? A battlefield... Asuna felt a lump in her throat now, looking around. She half expected to see a corpse at any second now. All she saw, however, was destruction. Large swathes of forest had been torn away, some of it seemingly ripped out of the earth, some of it flattened by some kind of detonation, some of it burned to cinders. There was a certain amount of awe in Asuna's mind as she looked around, a sinking feeling in her stomach coming to her as she realized how much destruction had been wrought here.

It wasn't like she had much in the way of experience, Mahora was still unclear in her mind, a disjointed mess of a memory, and the other things she had seen had been much more low scale generally. But here... it was as if the world itself was ripped apart! Walking past a large swathe of frozen ground, Asuna started to feel the stench of fire even more intensely. The large fire up ahead was only a few dozen meters away and she could see the flames up ahead. She could also see Kurt standing there, his back turned to her.

Hurrying up to the man, she could soon make out the outlines of what was up ahead. She couldn't identify it though, only that it was quite big, seemingly made of metal and that fire was all over it and black smoke pouring out from it. She had to almost be right by it before she could make sense of what it was.

It was a ship, a crashed ship. About thirty meters long and a total, smoldering wreck. Asuna saw several large holes in it, holes seemingly blasted through the hull. She was no expert but the rings of molten metal surrounding the holes made it seem as if some kind of energy cannon had been used on it. Whatever it was, it had totally demolished the ship and made it crash. The roar of fire surrounding it was almost deafening.

It was then that Asuna felt her heart freeze. From the pile of broken and battered steel, right below one of the holes from which black smoke poured, a hand stuck out. Sticking out from the wreck, a bloody, dirty human hand jutted. The shocking realization made Asuna take a step back, gasping. When thinking about it, of course there'd be corpses there, this was a ship after all; it needed a crew. Yet to see the lifeless hand made her flinch.

Then it moved. The hand twitched stiffly, slowly starting to move as if it was grasping for something. Asuna could only stare for a second, not knowing what to do.

"Are you just going to stand there?" Kurt's voice came to her, making her head snap to face him. The man was standing by a still upright tree, having pulled out a cigarette and lit it. His face was as calm as ever as he watched the hand. "Whoever is there will most probably die if he or she remains there." He continued, taking a puff of smoke.

"W-Well what do you want me to do?" Asuna asked him, her head snapping between Kurt and the hand. Fear and shock both made her almost yell.

"Take responsibility." Kurt said, "Take a good look at the crest on the ship." He nodded towards the large mark on one of the pieces of the ship where three white lilies sat in a row. "Those three lilies are the Vespertatian crest, this ship is yours." Kurt continued. "Whoever is trying to get out is your subject, he fought for you."

Asuna felt how her stomach sank. A whole world of implications crashed down into her and she turned around. Molding kanka, she dashed up to the ship and looked over it, trying to determine where to grip. Her hands frantically ran over it as she searched and after only a few seconds she saw where to lift. Grabbing hold under the large metal plate, with kanka glowing around her, Asuna pulled at it with all her might and managed to send the large piece of metal flying away.

Beneath said plate, in a mess of wires, metal and ash, lay a woman in torn clothes. Her long golden hair was dirty and matted, even singed at many places. The robe she wore seemed to have been white but was now black, reddish-brown and grey instead, blood, smoke and dirt having stained it. She lay on her belly, with one arm reaching forward and the other being torn off by the elbow. Weak moans came from her and Asuna felt how she became queasy at the sight.

"Hey, hey!" she yelled, reaching down to help the woman. Even with one arm torn off and her body battered the golden-haired woman was already trying to get up, her remaining arm having been pulled back to push herself up. "Stay with me." Asuna continued, wrapping her arm under the woman's to carefully lift her up. With the other wrapped around her waist Asuna tried to help the woman up but as she tried to put weight on one of her legs she screamed out, Asuna startling and almost dropping her.

"My legs!" the woman croaked, Asuna looking down to see to her horror that they were both broken, in several places it seemed like.

"Crap!" Asuna blurted out and quickly put the woman down, helping her to sit down with her back against the wreck. "I'm sorry, just stay with me okay?" She continued. Glancing at the woman's arm, she realized that she wasn't bleeding; the stump seemed as if it had been put into a fire and cauterized. The woman first now looked up at her, gazing at Asuna through pale grey eyes, clouded by pain.

"You…. Your highness…" the woman whispered, her voice breaking, as if she had screamed herself hoarse. "Why are you… here?" she continued asking. Asuna realized suddenly how pretty the woman was. She looked almost like an angel with her golden hair, big eyes and lithe body, a beauty that couldn't be hidden even in the state she was in now.

"Never mind that!" Asuna said, looking back at Kurt. "Damn it, if you can stand there and gawk then go find a healer or something!" she yelled. Her mind worked furiously, if this woman needed help now! Why was he just standing there?

"It's too late…" the woman croaked, "I'm too… messed up, I only have minutes left…"

"Don't' talk like that!" Asuna said, "You're not a healer, let them decide that." All she got as an answer for that was a pained laugh.

"But I am…" she said, "I'm the head… healer…" a sudden shudder went through the woman now, a choked scream escaping her. "Hellfire!" the woman cursed. "I tried to fix it… but the damage is… too big... My organs are minced… it's only the blood clots… I made that stops my guts from spilling… out. None of the… others can fix it… and definitely not fast enough…" Despite the pain that no doubt was tearing at her she spoke with determination and focus. Her teeth were gritted and her tone strained but even. Asuna felt almost as if she wanted to puke, feeling the smell of blood around her. Her hands begun to tremble.

"Hey, come on." She begun, trying to keep the mood up and put a hand on the woman's body. "You can't die here can you?" she tried to encourage the woman.

"Already dead…" the woman slurred, her voice growing more and more unfocused. "Died… ten years ago… my fam'ly killed wh'n Ostia… fell... 't least… took a few… wi' me…" The last word that left the woman's lips was followed by a slow exhale. Then, her head lolled to the side, her eyes glazed over and her body unmoving. She was dead.

Asuna froze, looking at her unmoving body with shock and horror in her eyes. Her hand went limp and fell from the woman's shoulder. She ended up unable to do anything else than stare at the woman's corpse. She was dead… only seconds ago she had been alive… and now she was… dead? Dead…. She was empty, stiff, bereft of life. Her body would never move again. She'd never talk, never feel, never see or hear, never be. She was just gone… one second she had been there, the second she was gone.

Asuna ended up looking around herself, looking at the pillars of smoke rising towards the sky. Her mind slowly connected the dots, realizing the implications. How many bodies like this lay scattered around here? How many had died here? How many lives had ended forever?

"Each of the men and women who died here chose it." Kurt said behind her, his voice making her startle. She looked back at him, seeing how cold fury rested in his eyes. "They'd rather cease living than allow everything that they are to be destroyed."

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked, turning to look at the corpse again.

"I mean that in this very moment this nation is at war!" Kurt yelled. Now anger was evident on his face and he threw away the cigarette. "Your people are being slaughtered, displaced from their homes if the Megalomesembrians deem it necessary, denied to practice their faith as it is branded a "terrorist network". They are being humiliated, spat upon, forced to turn away from their beliefs or be sent to ghettos to starve and suffer until they accept becoming a client people to the state of Megalomesembria! The new upper class is already moving into this nation, Megalomesembric settlers who force Vespertatians from their ancestral homes and pick the best spots for them to live in! They raze entire towns to make room for Megalomesembric mansions and industries, enforce that anyone not Megalomesebrian must carry an ID and accept to live in squalor. If they don't do that they are branded a terrorist to be dragged off to prison camps where they are tortured or executed at the whims of their captors!"

"It is a crime equal to the "untermensch" policy of the Third Reich, the apartheid of South Africa, the butchering of American natives, the concentration camps of the British Empire in Transvaal and the Orange free state! They seek to annihilate all standing in their way of making Vespertatia equal parts a brothel and retreat for their upper class and a slave-state where they can place all the dirtiest and most risky industries, with your people as the whores and servants! Every day more innocents, soldiers, civilians, children younger than you, are killed by these fascist imperialists as they seek to kill or break any and all who oppose making this country a puppet state! And you! You who should stand up to unite your people, you keep muddling around like this, acting like you're still nothing but a junior high school girl!"

Asuna couldn't do anything other than silently listen. Her eyes were wide and her breathing labored as the reality of it all washed over her. The now dead woman staring at her with lifeless eyes couldn't have been much more than twenty years old as far as Asuna could see. She had been ten years old when her family was killed. And she had gladly died, gladly ceased to be forever, in the hopes that she could take some of the Megalomesembrians with her. She died so that the Megalomesembrians wouldn't be able to enslave her entire people. It was inconceivable to Asuna, something too horrible to comprehend.

_"Help me."_Asuna suddenly froze, feeling it like a slap in the face. The memory of Negi's death suddenly came crashing down and Asuna remembered, as vividly as possible, how he had begged her to kill him, kill him so that he wouldn't revert, so that he wouldn't suffer that fate, the fate worse than death.

Kneeling by the dead woman's body, looking at her with confusion in her eyes, Asuna reached the first vestiges of understanding. Neither the grief nor the inability to remember became dominant, instead she understood. Negi was like this woman, they had both died a long time ago and what they had done this far had only been their way of trying to use what time was left for them. When Negi had come to Mahora he was a dead man walking, he had known it... all the things he had done, all the things that had happened where only there to give him some more time, to let him die having accomplished something. Tears started to run down Asuna's cheeks, the understanding being as painful as the grief had been.

Yet, in Asuna's heart something else awoke. The pain she had felt since Negi's death was not rooted merely in loss. It came even more from the feelings of helplessness, that she had tried to do everything she could to help him but failed. Yet now she had another chance for this. Her homeland, her people, was being swallowed by darkness, twisted by the machinations of entities not belonging there. It was as if the strength of steel slowly awoke in her. Had she had another chance she would have fought by Negi's side until the end. She did not have Negi now however, she had her homeland.

And she would be damned if she threw it all away! Her grief was not reason enough to let everything that was hers and her people's to fall apart. Asuna's hands clenched, the girl gritting her teeth as she swore to herself that one way or another, this woman's sacrifice, the sacrifices of all those who had died today and since the war started would not be in vain! She slowly stood up, looking back at Kurt through bloodshot but steady eyes.

"Point taken." She told him. "Let's go back to Othila, we have a war to fight." The steel in her voice surprised even her and Kurt ended up actually gawking for the faintest of moments. It vanished so fast it seemed almost like a trick of the light however. The next instant his face was back to the usual smug attitude. Or not quite the usual, there was something about his eyes now, something more accepting, something softer, almost tender.

"By your command, your highness." He said humbly, stepping back to clear the path for Asuna and she walked past him back towards the ship. In her eyes there was now steely determination where there once had been confusion and uncertainty. Somehow, one way or another, she'd finish this war.

* * *

Setsuna's eyes snapped open instantly and she sat up straight. She looked around herself, scanning the large hallway she and Konoka were sitting in. It didn't look that special, being filled with travelers that were either sitting in one of the many chairs or on the benches available, walking back and forth across the carpets covering the floor or standing at one of the many beeping arcade machines. It looked just like any passenger ship in the world, lively and filled with people.

It was special though. It was very special. They were at this very moment over a kilometer up in the air. After their arrival to what apparently had been the capitol of an empire named "Hellas", a city named the same, they had gotten aboard this ship and were now making their way to some small town named Pelos. The ship they were flying in now was as much of a wonder as the great portal in Wales that they had reached this world through, the thousands of silvery spires in Hellas and the sights of countless fantastic beings in the streets. This world held wonders after wonders and Setsuna was glad for Mana's experience with this world, neither Setsuna and Konoka nor Kaede and Ku Fei knew anything of it.

Now, however, she noticed something that made her snap to attention. She quickly scanned her surroundings, trying to identify it. Kaede and Ku Fei were standing by one of the arcade machines, playing it happily, and Mana was sitting by the window, looking out across the clouds. Just beside Setsuna Konoka had been sitting, the girl peacefully sleeping. Only now she wasn't.

Somehow, without a trace and without a sound, Konoka was gone, nowhere to be seen. It was as if she had vanished completely, ceased to be. Setsuna's blood turned to ice and a sudden pounding erupted in her ears, adrenaline forced its way out into her body, kick-starting her system. In an instant she was on her feet, anger and fear surging through the mind.

"Mana!" she yelled, the steel-gazed sharpshooter's eyes snapping towards her at once, "Where did she go!" Setsuna yelled, not caring one second that everyone noticed her. Ku Fei and Kaede were looking around now as well, none of the four girls could see Konoka.

"Aru?" Ku Fei said, "Did Konoka no go bathroom?" The most obvious explanation came from the kung fu girl in only moments. Yet Setsuna did not buy it, Konoka wouldn't have vanished like that if that was the case. More and more anxiety built in her, the vanishing of her friend making her near panic. How? It was impossible! One second her chi and been there, the next it had vanished completely.

"Spread out!" Setsuna yelled, "Kaede, upper deck , Mana, lower deck, Ku Fei, you and I search this floor!" Her tone was authoritarian , the emotions behind the words frantic, desperate. "Come on!" the girls all listened at once, blasting off in separate directions to find the vanished girl. Kaede reached the top deck in an instant, her shinobi skills allowing her to move as gracefully as a leaf on the wind between the crowds and the furniture, neither even noticing her supersonic passing. Mana's eyes flashed the colour of steel the very instant she reached the lower deck, her unnatural eyes removing the veils of mundanity and allowing her to see everything. Ku Fei seemed to be in several places at once, her shundo steps perfectly paced to make her flicker back and forth across the floor with the motions reminiscent of a dragonfly. Setsuna meanwhile was like a peregrine falcon, her every step pushing her faster as her sharp eyes scanned the area around her.

It couldn't be, how had Konoka just disappeared like that, it was not possible! And she, how could she had been so neglectful! Where had she lapsed so badly in her vigilance? Setsuna felt the shame almost choke her yet it did not slow her, instead only drove her to search harder. Sidestepping past a large group of schoolgirls, Setsuna snapped her head back and forth, looking in all directions.

Then! From the right Setsuna could feel Konoka's chi. It was faint and hard to tell but Setsuna was so attuned to Konoka by now that she was able to sense that it was her merely from her chi. She was inside the cabin on Setsuna's right and the samurai girl didn't hesitate one second. With a powerful spin-kick the girl smashed the door open with enough power that it almost flew off its hinges.

The cabin inside was a standard two-bed cabin with a table and a small circular window, the kind of cabin that was standard for middle-class travelers. Konoka was inside, currently standing against the wall with one gloved hand clasped over her mouth and the other holding her arm against the wall. The figure holding her captured was a robed person about her length, wreathed from head to toe in light grey robes and with his face obscured by a steel mask. Both the man in the steel mask and Konoka had turned to look at Setsuna when the door slammed open. Konoka's eyes were filled with tears.

Setsuna's reaction was as instant as it was violent. Not having come to a complete stop after her kicking of the door, she instead accelerated, going for the man's face with a blindingly swift step-in and a hand shaped as a knife flying for his neck. Her eyes blazed as the worry and anxiety in one second had been ignited, white-hot fury in its place.

What happened next was not easy for anyone to comprehend. Just as Setsuna's strike was about to hit it was blocked another figure appeared between her and the man in the steel mask and Konoka. The figure seemingly stepped out of nothingness, one second not being there and the other being there. Clothed in flamboyant clothes including a large scarf and a wide cap pulled down to the eyes, the figure's face was completely obscured. Except for a small slit along the eyes.

It seemed to explode in front of Setsuna she was simultaneously hit by the figure's counter-attack and by the look in the second person's eyes. Sheer, bloodthirsty madness was blazing in the figure's eyes, a violent, savage lust for death and agony. The confrontation with this bloody-minded savagery hit Setsuna's disciplined and honourable mind as hard as the powerful strike to her chest did. She was catapulted backwards, only just managing to recover before her back hit the wall. The second figure was already after her however, eyes blazing with bloodlust as it charged with wild abandon.

Leaping to the sides would only buy her singular instants of time, the attacker was way too aggressive to give her time to recover, and behind her was a wall. There was only one option for Setsuna, forwards. The girl gritted her teeth and counter-attacked; her steely devotion and fervor countering the attacker's savagery and blood-thirst as their swords clashed.

There was a blast of chi as the two collided mid-air inside the hallway. Storm-winds were kicked up from the impact that made most of the ship tremble. Setsuna gritted her teeth, not being pushed back any more, instead managing to be the one who pushed her assailant back. The figure, holding a short sword in one hand each, did not have her raw power and was shoved backwards. The momentum imposed on the figure was shifted instantly though, with superhuman grace and control it turned from stumbling backwards to going to the side. In an instant it had disappeared and only Setsuna's inhumanly sharp eyes saved her as she turned the sword to block the attack coming from the side.

"_Zanganken!"_ Turning to face the attacker, Setsuna put all her weight on one foot and twisted her wrist. Her sword flashed with chi and started to dig through the blades used by her attacker. A split-second later, they carved through the steel of one of the blades, cutting it cleanly in half and nearly decapitating her assailant. Only yet another show of preternatural grace made the figure able to both save one of its swords and its head and it danced away. Setsuna went after it, eyes blazing and intent fully to kill, while the figure turned the sword into a backhand grip and charged again.

"Set-chan, no!" Setsuna heard Konoka's yell as the girl hurled herself at Setsuna, the samurai instinctively ceasing her attack and wrapping one arm around her ward. The figure, meanwhile, was restrained by the masked one who slammed one gloved hand into its supposed partner's chest and shoved roughly.

"Enough!" the metal masked figure commanded, his voice hoarse and commanding yet still totally calm. He then proceeded to slap Setsuna's attacker in the face with enough force to make the figure tumble into the wall. Konoka meanwhile remained in front of Setsuna, holding her back.

"Set-chan, don't hurt them, please!" she yelled, her voice broken. With her sword still in her hand, Setsuna looked at Konoka to see that her face was filled with the same emotions she had seen there during the nightmares, horror and grief. Her hands clutched at Setsuna, pushing her backwards. The samurai girl didn't know what to do and settled for instincts, turning sideways to cover Konoka with her body and holding out the blade towards the two figures.

"You!" she blurted out when she faced them again. Her assailant's scarf had been pulled down, revealing the face of the mercenary swordsgirl she had fought in Kyoto, Tsukuyomi. Drawing her conclusions quickly, Setsuna glanced at the still masked figure holding Tsukuyomi against the wall. With Tsukuyomi being here the masked man had to be Fate Averruncus.

The two mercenaries who had kidnapped Konoka-ojou-sama in Kyoto where right in front of her. The two who had been enslaved by Negi-sensei when he fell... just like Konoka-ojou-sama had. Tsukuyomi was currently hyperventilating, staring into the thin air with her eyes empty, and Fate glanced at them from over his shoulder. Setsuna only became even more determined to get rid of them but Konoka's hands stopped her. Her ward and friend didn't push hard, Setsuna could easily have pushed past her, but the fact that it was Konoka stopped her cold. She couldn't force herself past Konoka. That didn't stop her anger from manifesting though.

"What were you doing to Konoka-ojou-sama?" she snarled, glaring at the still restrained Tsukuyomi and the masked Fate.

"Set-chan, don't!" Konoka exclaimed, stopping her from saying anything more. The girl shivered in what could just as well be fear, grief or anything else. Setsuna couldn't tell. "Please don't hurt them. They... they didn't do anything... I... I" Whatever Konoka was going to say was swallowed by the sobs that wracked the poor girl. She was devastated, clutching to Setsuna like a terrified child. Setsuna found herself holding onto Konoka a bit harder, balancing her threat to Fate and Tsukuyomi with her comfort of Konoka. She kept looking between the two, not knowing what to say.

It was then that Tsukuyomi collapsed. She had been breathing harsher and harsher, eventually collapsing. Fate caught the collapsing girl before she could hit the floor. His hand wrapped around her head, holding it against his chest. The gesture was one of comfort, of instinctive protection. From the pale and merciless mage this was something Setsuna hadn't expected. The steel mask turned to face her now, a nod from his head towards the room accompanying it.

"Let's get inside." he told Setsuna, carrying Tsukuyomi inside. Setsuna, not knowing what to think, followed. Konoka-ojou-sama had said they didn't hurt her and that had to do. She gently led her ward inside and let her sit down on one of the chairs. Kneeling by her side, Setsuna looked up at Konoka's face to see if she felt better. The girl's face was still filled with tears and Setsuna got up again, embracing her.

"She can take the second bunk." Setsuna could hear Fate say behind her. She looked back and saw how Tsukuyomi now lay in the first one, trembling in her sleep. Fate wasn't looking at them, instead running a glowing hand back and forth a few inches above the girl. Deciding to accept the offer, Setsuna led Konoka to the bed and within seconds the girl had fallen asleep. Her face was still marred by the trail of tears and Setsuna gritted her teeth, still not understanding what had happened.

When she looked back again she saw Fate sitting calmly in one of the two chairs standing by the small table. His arms were folded and he nodded towards the other chair, Setsuna taking a seat.

"There is little love lost between us two." Fate begun bluntly as Setsuna glared at him. "Yet know this: in Kyoto I was on the job, a job I have paid dearly for accepting. As of now, I have no designs upon Konoe Konoka. Indeed: I did not even know she was here before she knocked on our door."

"Then weren't you the ones to..." Setsuna blinked, "Chamo!" she snarled, understanding. The ermine was more powerful than she initially had thought, that had become obvious a long time ago, and Setsuna understood that he must have been involved.

"And Konoka-san in equal measure:" Fate added. "She claimed she felt our presence here and came to find us."

"Then why was she crying." Setsuna said now. She still didn't trust this man. For all she knew he could have any number of plans. Fate didn't answer now, instead he reached up to grab the metal mask he was wearing. Wordlessly, he took it off and revealed what was beneath.

Setsuna found herself gasping at the sight. Shock and nausea filled her in equal measure when she saw his face. Beneath that smooth metal mask was a face that was falling apart. Large patches of skin had already fallen off, revealing muscles or indeed even bone at places. One of his cheeks was gone completely, revealing a skull-like grin from his teeth. One of the eyes stared out from a lidless eye socket and the other was hollow and sunken. His white hair could be seen only in singular tufts, the rest having fallen off. Setsuna felt almost as if she wanted to vomit at the sight as Fate put the mask back on.

"A legacy of our enslavement." Fate said grimly. "I am rotting away, Tsukuyomi descending into psychotic blood-lust. Somehow your ward escaped it, I do not know if her tears were those of sympathy or shame over the fact that she is not afflicted."

Setsuna felt it like she had been stabbed in the guts. Her thoughts went to Kotaro before she could stop herself. Had he been afflicted too? Had he become insane? Was he dying? Those questions smashed into her along with her longing and regrets. It took her several seconds before she could regain her composure, seconds during which Fate sat silently.

"Then... what are you doing here?"She eventually asked him, tying to keep her mind focused on the task at hand.

"Running." Fate answered succinctly. "I aim to undo this." he indicated the metal mask and the sleeping Tsukuyomi. "For that, I needed this." Fate proceeded to reach into his robes and pull out a small leather-bound book which he held up for Setsuna to see.

"What is that?" Setsuna eyed the thing with wary eyes. Who knew what that thing contained.

"This is a book that might very well become more sought after than the Tome of Thanata." Fate said. "Where said book contains equal parts rambling and facts this book is written with scientific accuracy and methodology. Watch well Sakurazaki Setsuna, this is the journal of your old sensei, Negi Springfield." At this Fate put down the book and folded his arms again. "The purifiers," he continued, "an organization spanning the world and acting much like the Shinmeiryuu but dealing primarily with the taint, confiscated this book and took it to their headquarters. Tsukuyomi and I retrieved it from there six days ago and have been on the run ever since."

"You "retrieved" it?" Setsuna looked at the man in suspicion.

"More accurately one could say we slaughtered our way into the fortress, razed the gates to their vault and retrieved this book from it by force." Fate amended with a dry voice.

"I... I see." Setsuna said now, feeling a bit queasy at the thought. She had to remind herself that this man was massively powerful. It had taken Negi-sensei all his strength to defeat him the last time.

"Yes." Fate said. "Yet, what reason do you have for being here? The magic world is according to all reports in a state of tense wariness, war is looming on the horizon. Yet you are here, heading to the Vespertatian border, the most unsafe place of all. Why?"

Setsuna looked at the man, trying to decide what exactly to do. The choice was made for her however. Chamo jumped up on the table, looking back at Setsuna.

"Tell her." he said. "Konoka-neesan won't leave them behind."

"Negi Springfield's familiar." Fate said now. "I think I can already guess but please, do tell me." he clasped his hands in front of his face and watched Setsuna intently. Setsuna eventually told him, giving him all the details of why they were here. Fate listened silently to them, nodding now and then. When Setsuna was done he leaned back.

"Would you accept our company?" he said simply. "if Kagurazaka Asuna is there then the Pyriths would be an unparalleled hiding place for us.

"Do you seriously expect me to trust you?" Setsuna asked. She wasn't angry now, instead only suspicious. Fate still had kidnapped Konoka once and that rermained a fact no matter what.

"You might not be able to." Fate admitted ,"But Konoka can, without reservations. I can no more harm her than I can cut off my own arms. We were one." he indicated his head and Setsuna flinched. "And I will not harm her."

"...I'll leave the choice with Konoka-oiou-sama." Setsuna said after a good while of consideration. Fate nodding.

"That is all I ask for." he said.

* * *

It was with a not slight sense of apprehension that Asuna slowly pushed the door open, stepping out of the building that was her home now and walked out into the mists. Yet again the thick mists had swept in over Othila, wrapping the city in a thick blanket of grayness. She could see the walls of the ziggurat that held up the fifth platform and her house but little more. You could only see a hundred meters ahead of you at best, making Asuna feel that it was best to not go too far away. Kotaro followed her closely, the huge animal whining a bit as it looked at her.

"Don't worry." Asuna said quietly as she looked down at the animal and petted it between the ears. "I know what I'm doing." She said with an encouraging voice. _"probably"_ she added to herself, provoking another whine from Kotaro as he sensed her uncertainty.

Asuna sighed as she made her way to the end of the platform, trying to ignore the worries piling up inside her. It was sink or swim, she couldn't postpone this. Stopping just before her feet left the platform she stared out into the emptiness, focusing as best as she could. Her worries, her uncertainties, her doubts, she shoved it all away. While thinking wasn't her strongest suit she knew one thing, the seat she was in now didn't allow messing around. The image of the dead woman was burned into her retinas. Her bloody clothes, her singed and messy hair, her dirty face, her torn-off arm; it all remained inside Asuna and made her keenly aware of what was at stake.

She was just one girl, no matter what everyone else said. She did remember her first years and who she was, but that didn't change who she had become after ten years away from said home. Yet, these people believed in her, saw a great princess when they looked at her. They'd fight for her no matter what and if Asuna let that down they'd die, all of them. These tens of thousands of warriors in these mountains, no less committed or brave in the face of an overwhelming foe than Negi had been, needed her. Asuna couldn't let that trust down, not after been there herself.

What she was to these people Negi had been to her. He had been a mighty, seemingly indomitable figure, one that could change the world, one that brought hope into hopelessness by sheer force of will. Could Asuna be that to all these people? She didn't have a damn clue. Was she gonna fight tooth and nail to be it? Damn straight!

"Mistguard!" she yelled out into the emptiness, determination evident on her face. "I want to talk to you, come to me!" She did feel silly but paid it no mind. This strange figure whose voice she had heard in her dreams would probably hear it. Asuna started waiting, looking out into the mists that had seemingly swallowed her shout; there wasn't the least echo from it. Kotaro tensed beside her after a few seconds, the giant animal hunching down slightly as he stared at something far away in the mists. Asuna noticed it and couldn't help but feel a slight tinge of relief, Kotaro stared straight ahead, into mid-air, and it would be bloody strange if it wasn't Mistguard.

Then something begun to move in the mists ahead. Slowly, an outline appeared in the grayness, the outline of a person. After about a dozen seconds she could see it clearly, or at least as clearly as she had seen the figure before. It walked towards her, seemingly being able to walk through the air. It stopped a few meters from her, as indistinct as always.

"Greetings, you who are of the sun." the figure said with its whispery voice as it inclined its head ina greeting. "As summoned, this one has come."

"Tell me something." Asuna said as she looked at the figure, one hand resting on Kotaro's back to hold him back. The giant animal shivered, seemingly not being able to stand the figure that just had arrived. "I went to a battlefield south of here yesterday." A thought struck her now and instead of waiting for the figure to say anything she added "But you know that already, don't you?"

"It is so." The figure answered. Asuna nodded.

"The dream I had when I went there, what did you do to me?" she said bluntly.

"What is seen is known, understood, quantified. What is unseen is none of this" The figure answered. "That is the creed; that is the gift."

"But what does that mean?" Asuna said, more forcefully now. She was sick and tired of that riddle; she didn't have time to try to figure those things out!

"It means that Mistguard stands with you." The figure said. Its voice was impassive, void of any signs of taunting. Asuna almost screamed in frustration now, the figure's stubborn refusal to speak clearly driving her crazy. Why the heck couldn't it just spit it out?

"Okay, you stand with me, cool." She said with a deep breath. "And I get weird dreams due to it. Do you perhaps have something that has any kind of relevance to this war we're fight…ing…" Asuna froze, a realization coming over her and making her eyes open wide. "Wait… wait!" she exclaimed now, lifting her hands to her head as her brain worked furiously. Hadn't that bergafolk guy said that the battle had been raging until only a few minutes until they came there? Didn't that mean that that dream… "You showed me the battlefield I was going to, didn't you?" she exclaimed.

"What is seen is known, understood, quantified." The figure answered, "That is the gift; that is the creed.

"I'll take that as a yes." Asuna said, too worked up to be annoyed with the figure's ramblings anymore. "Can you go anywhere and watch?" the gears in her head were spinning rapidly. Something like this… wasn't that pretty much the ultimate spy network?

"Mistguard is one with these peaks and valleys." The figure said. "What is beyond is unseen, what is within is seen."

"Damn." Asuna said after a second, understanding what that meant. Still, this was a great discovery. Asuna wasn't a strategist or anything, but with a few of these guys posted at every entrance to the mountains the Megalomesembrians wouldn't have a shot in hell to get in here undetected. Which reminded her… "But hey, how many of you are there?" she asked after a couple of seconds. This time the figure didn't answer, instead, the mists around it rippled. Another figure stepped out of the mists, as indistinct and unclear as the first one. Then came one more, another and yet another. More and more figures appeared, first singular, then pairs, then dozens, then hundreds. In the end Asuna was surrounded by an entire army of indistinct, hazy figures in the mists.

"Mistguard is legion." The figure's voice said now, Asuna picking up something she hadn't noticed before in its hazy, whispery voice. It seemed to be multi-layered, a subtle mix of countless voices. Asuna got a feeling that the voice wasn't the figure's, but the voice of everyone present. It made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up

"You… you're not human, are you?" Asuna asked quietly now, looking around herself with a sinking feeling in her gut. She could hardly see any mist that was not occupied by these figures. The feeling was oppressive; she was in the middle of an entire army of shady figures. Kotaro was looking around, obviously stressed out like hell. It seemed almost as if he couldn't perceive them, his giant head swinging left and right as he looked around. His nose was sniffing furiously and his ears twitching. Animal and human both felt a sting of fear as the weight of thousands of gazes fell on them.

"We are mist and mystery, we are shadow and secrecy, we are mistguard." The voice said, beginning to crack up now, splitting off and multiplying. The first word was spoken by only one, the last by thousands. A titanic choir surrounded Asuna, their whisperings like the wind. She felt more and more like she just had thrown herself off a cliff, whatever these things were they weren't human. Asuna found herself doubting everything she had assumed about these guys thus far. Could she trust something not even human?

Shaking her head, Asuna cleared it of those thoughts. Chamo hadn't been human either. What was it he had been? An ermine-elf? She had trusted him, at least as far as she trusted a perverted little imp that slept in her underwear.

"Do I need to do something to give you orders?" Asuna asked now, looking around herself. For all she knew they might demand her firstborn or something.

"We listen to what is spoken." The choir around her said. "The harvest growing in your steps is our reward."

"Okay…" Asuna said, processing it. It sounded good. "Guard every entrance and exit into these mountains." She said after a while, trying to speak with more conviction and force than she felt. "I want to know who enters and leaves, without exception."

"Mistguard hears and obeys." The choir said and the next second they all moved back and vanished into the mists, this time vanishing in a second. Kotaro, who still was shivering, slowly calmed down now and Asuna could feel how the trembling in the animal below her hand abated. She absently rubbed Kotaro between the ears, wondering yet again what the hell she had gotten herself into and how she was gonna get through it.

"Asuna-kun!" a voice cried in the mists behind her, making her startle. Kotaro almost bolted skywards and spun around on the spot, nearly knocking Asuna over with his tail. Her heart beating a bit faster, Asuna looked back to see Takahata-sensei come out of the thick pea soup of a fog. His eyes were filled with worry and his movements frantic as he got up to her. "Asuna-kun, are you all right?" he asked her, his hands traveling to rest on her shoulders. Asuna blinked, confused as to what he meant. "I heard what Kurt did." He said after a while, offering some explanation to what he meant.

Asuna hadn't thought about this. Of course Takahata-sensei hadn't heard about it until now. He and Takeda had been north for a couple of days, the admiral wanted to show him some of the outlying bases. He must have gotten back only just now.

"It's all right." She said, raising one of her hands to push away his. "I'm all right. He did the right thing." Takahata-sensei got a look of confusion flashing over his face.

"Asuna-kun, he couldn't possibly have demanded that you should know what this war is like." Takahata-sensei begun. "You've lived on Mahora all these years; he's levying unrealistic expectations on you."

"Is he?" Asuna asked, looking up on Takahata-sensei. "It's my home Takahata-sensei." she said. Turning around to look out over Othila, she saw that the mists had cleared enough that she could see the outline of the buildings below. "I only have this now. Mahora and all that, I can't go back there. And people here, they believe in me, they think I'm some kinda messiah, that I'll save them."

"Asuna-kun…" Takahata-sensei begun.

"Yeah sure, I'm just a normal girl and all that." Asuna broke him off. "But I'm not!" she yelled, "I'm a god damn princess, a real princess. And they believe in me now, end of story. I can either accept that and deal with it or stick my head in the sand. Thing is, if I do the latter people will keep dying. They need me, as a symbol or whatever I'm gonna be, they need me. The house of Entheofuchsia survived and that means everything to these people. And if that's all I can do, then I'm gonna become the best god damn princess there is!" Now Asuna was almost yelling, staring down at Othila as her voice came through clenched teeth. "I won't let them take this too!" she hissed "I won't fail Vespertatia like I failed Negi!"

Spinning around, Asuna came face to face with Takahata-sensei. The man was taken aback by what he saw in Asuna's eyes. Pure steel. Asuna's eyes were as grimly determined and as fierce as any he had ever seen. For half a second the image of her was overlaid with a memory he held. The memory was of a tall, regal man with stern and cold eyes, dressed in exquisite silks and seated upon a high throne. His posture had been relaxed but his voice harsh as he addressed the Crimson Wing. The presence the man radiated had been so strong that even Nagi and Rakan had put some hold on their fooling around as they addressed the king of Vespertatia, Takuro the Fifth.

Asuna's gaze, the look on her face, even the posture, was eerily reminiscent of her father's. For one moment Takamichi saw not one thing of Kagurazaka Asuna. Instead the princess-priestess of twilight came to totally consume the vessel in front of him. For that one instant the teenage girl mentally towered above him, becoming through and through the ruler Vespertatia. Takamichi failed to respond to Asuna, being so stunned by the sight.

"This is bigger than me Takahata-sensei," Asuna said, her voice steady and determined. "All these people here in Othila, all those who had to flee when the Megalomesembrians attacked, all those who still suffer under the occupation. They need me!" Takamichi looked at Asuna's face, seeing nothing but the kind of steely determination he had seen only a few times before. There was no hesitation in it, no wavering. Eventually he asked her one question.

"Are you committed to this?" his voice was calm, contemplative. In the girl in front of him he saw very little of the Asuna he knew.

"Until I die." Asuna said, the severity of the situation evident on the girl's face.

Takamichi didn't like it, not at all. Negi was not one month dead and Asuna already plunged herself headfirst into something like this. Whatever Haengr had done to her Takamichi prayed that it would hold. If it somehow came undone Asuna would crush under the pressure and the resistance would be paralyzed. Was it his call anymore though?

No. Takamichi inclined his head towards Asuna, realizing that he wasn't in command any longer. Asuna was back home with her people, she was the one leading now.

Weird, only weeks ago he had dreaded being in command, now he was reluctant to give it up.

"Then you have my allegiance, your highness." He said solemnly. She was aiming to be a princess through and through, things would have to change. Glancing up at Asuna, he saw that she didn't follow if the furrowed brow was any indication. "If you aim to be the princess then things will become different between us. I am a simple commoner, you are royalty. To Kagurazaka Asuna I can be a mentor, to the princess-priestess of twilight I can be but a servant. Will you have me, your highness?"

* * *

A/N: Blagh, life's been hectic the last weeks, sorry for the late update. As compensation you get this extra long chapter though. Read, review, let me know what I do right and wrong, I need to know those things.

Also: I have bit of a sad news for you. I made some calculations on how much I'd have left to write here and the result: waay too much. I need to speed this up, from now on things will be a bit quicker, I'll drop some side-plots I was thinking of and trim down what I have. I need to get somewhere with this otherwise it'll never be finished. Just so you know, don't worry when the pace picks up and I might rush things here and there, it's intentional.


	17. The past cannot be outrun

Chapter 17: The past cannot be outrun.

* * *

Asuna sat silently by the table in the large room, her eyes fixed on the magical screen on the wall. It was roughly five meters wide and two meters high, currently it displayed only a swirling mist. Beside her admiral Takeda and her paladin Kazuro sat, the latter working on something on a touchpad.

"Are you sure of this your highness?" Takeda asked after a few seconds, Asuna nodding.

"I need to see this." she said, "People are dying out there, I need to see it with my own eyes so I can understand." Takeda nodded slowly.

"I understand." he said. "This recording should do well then. We made it two days ago at the village of Grunmel. I mentioned that the Megalomesmebrians has begun a scorched earth policy, they're burning every single border-village along the foothills of the Pyriths, hoping to create a buffer zone. One of our forces ambushed them there."

"Show me." Asuna said and the screen came to life, showing an image of the mountains before zooming in on the foothills and revealing the forces of the Vespertatian resistance, running along the side of the low mountain ridge and hunching so they could not be seen by what lay beyond said ridge. They were all in all around one hundred of them. They were all wearing sturdy wool clothes, magic staffs and weapons in equal amounts being carried in their hands, their heads hidden inside woolen caps and their faces by scarves in the same materials.

"Is this the bergafolk?" Asuna asked, there being something in their steps that seemed just like the mountain warriors.

"All of them are Vespertatians by birth." Kazuro said, "They've been trained by the bergafolk but they are our people."

The screen now showed what lay beyond that ridge, the small, sleepy village of Grunmel. It seemed an unremarkable place in many ways, barely big enough to appear on anything more than local maps. Seemed to be big enough for about a hundred people who lived on mainly sustenance farming. What mattered here though was the fact that the village was being emptied. Megalomesembrian troops had arrived to the village only two hours ago and was currently dragging it's occupants out by force, torching the houses and loading the people onto transports. Five transport ships, two small assault craft and about twenty soldiers, fifteen of them herding the farmers into the transports and the remaining five torching the houses. Asuna felt a stab of anger at the sight. Once again she repeated the oath she had made to herself that these bastards would be stopped, one way or another.

The Vespertatian warriors all came to a halt as the man in the front held up a hand and they all went down on one knee. As the commander crawled up to take a peek over the edge of the ridge the others weaved small, subtle spells of recuperation, just enough to reinvigorate them. The commander assessed the situation below before slowly crawling down again. He motioned for his men to look at him, beginning to make a rapid series of hand signs indicating where the different squads were to go. After a few seconds the men made a sign to show they understood and left, spreading out across the ridge with speed and silence.

"In order to counter the orderly, rigid tactics of the Megalomesembrians we aim for full flexibility." Takeda said, "The men fight in small groups of five, acting independently but in coordination. We swarm the enemy, striking where they are weakest and repositioning as fast as we can."

Soon the other groups had assumed position and the commander peered over the ridge again, clenching his staff in his hands as he took a slow, deep breath. Far in the west, beyond the creek, lay the forest, and the commander focused his eyes, weaving spells to see every last detail clearly despite the distance. The civilians were all loaded onto the transports and the engines begun to hum as the ships lifted, ferrying the farmers off to some unknown fate.

Then, out of the forest a swarm of magical energy blasts came flying, several miles away, and the two assault craft above were both raked by the fire.

"We buy heavier weapons from the empire of Hellas." Takeda said, "Those blasts come from light anti-shuttle cannons, low power but with high rates of fire and very mobile.

At this very instant, the men all launched themselves over the ridge, hoarse screams tearing their ways out of the men's throats. With a war cry like a swarm of descending raptors the hundred men charged, unleashing swarms of spells against the village. Chaos broke out down in the village now, confusion and uncertainty made the Megalomesembrians at first scatter to seek cover. The barrage was relentless and two of the soldiers were caught in the open, both of them died within seconds.

Meanwhile: the pilots on the four transports holding the civilians swiftly rose from the ground, hatches closing as they attempted to get away and deny the Vespertatians their assumed prize. The fifth remained behind, as did the two assault craft. The two latter descended, falling from the sky at high enough speed that when they hit the deck, both of them in the village "square", they kicked up dust. Digging in, the two assault craft became weapons emplacements within ten seconds. However this was not fast enough to turn their guns on the slopes the Vespertatians came from, the resistance fighters were already inside the village when the guns were ready.

"Everything is about mobility here." Kazuro said, "They haven't had time to gather, that's our only hope. We swarm them, isolate small groups and attack them from all directions at once."

The Vespertatians dashed into the village, through alleys, windows, doors and whatever were available they came. The Megalomesembrians, who had still been unable to unite, were not given any pause by the relentless fighters as they went for their hated enslavers, often five or six at the same time. A bloody melee begun amidst the burning buildings, the Vespertatians swarming around their foes, pulsing to strike wherever their opponent were the weakest. It was bloody however, speed, courage and fervor were frail things against magic steel arms and armor, for each Megalomesembrian that went down several Vespertatians fell.

"Yet, above all other things, we must always have ulterior motives." Kazuro said as the perspective shifted, the screen displaying the transports holding the captured villagers as they buzzed through the air. "No matter how we engage, we can never engage the fighting elements of our enemies primarily. That would be suicide" Having managed to get away from the battle, they now made top speed towards their base. Swishing along a series of rocky outcroppings they failed to notice the figures standing above however. As the transports came out from behind the outcroppings they were not alone, a dozen lance-mounted Vespertatians were above them and already attacking them. Raking the shields of the transports with their lance blasts, the Vespertatians went straight for the ships, landing on top of them and despite the air vent managing to remain there.

"A hunter targets the weak spots, goes for the calf instead of the cow." Kazuro continued, "A wounded enemy is worth many dead, a pound of grain stolen from the enemy worth twenty pounds carried from home."Burning their way through the hulls with fire spells the Vespertatians quickly forced their way into the ship, long knives gleaming as they went directly for the crewmen of the ships. In the cramped cockpit the crewmembers found themselves unable to defend themselves, they were pilots, not soldiers, and were brutally stabbed to death by the Vespertatians who threw them out of the chairs and took up position in the seats themselves, managing to get the ships to fly straight again before they crashed into the ground. The ships soon turned, heading the opposite direction, to the mountains.

Back in the village several large detonations rocked the ground, deafening explosions making the ears of all present ring. The Vespertatian fighters pulled back instantly at this, retreating into the clouds of dust that came swirling from around them. The din of battle soon settled, leaving behind only echoes and the roar of flames. The Vespertatians had destroyed the ships, using powerful explosives to blow them to smithereens and leaving the Megalomesembrians stranded. Even though some of the soldiers tried to pursue their attackers they found nothing, after only a few seconds it was as if they had faded into nothingness, the dust clouds swallowing them whole.

"A thousand times we will outwit them, a thousand times we will outmaneuver them, a thousand times they will bleed and die and achieve nothing. In the end the greedy ones will ask if it is worth it." Takeda summarized. "Eight Megalomesembrian soldiers, twenty crewmen of the ships and fifty-three Vespertatians died here, yet that is good numbers considering what we are facing. Also: the villagers were all safely taken to Othila and are now part of the resistance, we have four new transport ships and the remaining Megalomesembrians soldiers are stranded days from friendly forces, all communication spells they can use are useless even this far out from the mountains. As we speak we use light, mobile troops to harass them as they are heading back to base. Even if they do not die they will be mentally scarred from the hell we put them through and with a little luck they will have to be taken out of service." The screen faded back to the swirling mists and Asuna slowly nodded, a feeling of solemn respect having come over her as she thought of the men who had died there.

"Any questions?" Takeda asked now and Asuna nodded.

"You said we buy weapons from Hellas." she said, "With what?"

"Fire-iron your highness." Takeda answered, "There are certain mines in the Pyriths that produce an ore infused with fire magic, processed into ingots it is worth nearly as much as gold and the Hellassi hunger for it. Yet, the mines give only so much and we cannot buy really heavy weaponry like cruisers and the likes, they demand an infrastructure we do not have and wouldn't fit our type of warfare anyhow." Asuna nodded, having been struck by something.

"Tell me something..." she asked after a few more seconds. "We can't win this war can we? Not in the way that we toss them out. We're just making it as painful as we can and hope they give up in the end." Takeda nodded. "And if they don't give up?" Asuna asked now. Takeda sighed.

"Then this war will go on until the Megalomesembrians find a way through the mountains. The small forces they've sent in here can be dealt with but if they adapt far enough that they can send in the heavy ships..."

"Won't Othila protect us?" Asuna asked, feeling a chill in her stomach. Takeda shook his head.

"Not forever." he admitted. "The Megalomesembrians have hundreds of mages working on solving the enigma of the pyrith mists, the world's finest R&D-teams work for them. It's not a matter of if they solve it, but when."

"Joy..." Asuna muttered.

* * *

Inside the filthy bar the worn, unkempt man stared down into his glass, watching the transparent liquid swirl around in it. It was cheep booze, more rotgut than anything else. But it was cheap, cheap and strong. It helped him get through another day without remembering. He took another swig of it and felt the burning sensation as it went down his throat. Yeah that hit the spot. It burned inside him and cleansed him, drove away all the pain.  
Inside this bar, one of the worst in all of Granicus, he had rapidly become a fixture. Sitting at a corner of the place with his head down and silently going through bottle after bottle, he hadn't drawn any special attention. The bartender approved however, whenever the bottle was finished he fished out a bill and paid for another. A few days some thugs had tried to rob him, figuring that he was loaded. That hadn't really gone over well, they had been sent flying out of the place and since then nobody dared to even talk to him. Meh... worked for him.

Emptying the glass, he fumbled for his bottle and found to his dismay that it was empty as well. Still, a couple of gestures and one bill later he had another one. Good man that one... good bar... good day... suddenly he chuckled.  
"Yeah..." he chuckled. "Good day... good day in Granicus!" the chuckles soon became guffaws and he found himself laughing like a maniac. Leaning back on the footstool he sat, he suddenly felt dizzy. The laughter quickly abated as nausea came in it's place. The man tumbled off the chair and fell to the floor. Feeling how he retched, he got to his feet and stumbled out of the door as fast as he could. He only barely got into the alley beside the bar before he threw up. Vomiting without control, the man loudly retched as the swill he had drunken the last weeks poured out of him.

It took over a minute for the retching to abate, leaving the man shivering and cold when he was done. What more though... he suddenly felt so sleepy. Shaking his head, he tried to clear it but failed, instead stumbling to the side and stepping right in the puddle of vomit at his feet. Slipping on it, he fell uncontrollably and struck his head against the wall, being knocked unconscious.

Then the dreams came

_The countryside was in full bloom, the summer heat being only just so strong that it was warm but not sweltering. The cool breeze that came from the west only improved this, granting a freshness to the air. Under a large birch by the riverside two p__eople were sitting with fishing rods in their hand. The two people – a man in his thirties and a boy around five years old – obviously had to be father and son. They were near identical, with red hair, brown eyes and sharp jaws, and sat close to each other. _

_The older man was wearing an open robe and rough wilderness clothes under it and the younger a long tunic and a large hat which was drooping on his head. The hat was a classic model, the kind archmages were meant to use but on the boy it looked more cute than impressive. It kept drooping down over his eyes and he had to push it up every now and then._

"_How's it going with the hat kiddo?" the older man asked now, laughing at the boy's struggles with his hat and taking it off his head. "You're never gonna catch something if you have to push up your hat all the time." he said as he put the hat on his own head. "Besides, doesn't it look better on me?" he finished._

"_Dad!" the kid protested now, getting up and trying to grab the hat. "Gimmie my hat!" the man only leaned back now, holding the kid away with his longer arms._

"_Oh come on!" the boy's father said now, "Don't you think it looks good on me?"_

"_It's my hat!" the kid said now before he suddenly leapt at his father, pushing him down and sitting on his chest. Plucking the hat off his dad's head he put it back on with a smile right before it fell down over his eyes again. The man, who had been pushed to the ground by the kid now, couldn't help but begin to laugh at the sight._

_"You win!" he laughed, "but please," he added as he pushed himself up, "At least let me shrink it a little for you before you walk into a tree or something." the boy had gotten to his feet now and despite standing up he was only about the size his father was when he sat up. "Please?" his father asked now with his hands together in a pleading gesture._

"_Okay..." the kid said now with a small sulk on his face. Yet the glint in his eyes suggested he didn't really mean it._

"_Oi." his dad said now, poking him in the belly and making the kid laugh as he took the hat from him. "Your chin will fall off if you keep pouting." taking the hat into his hands he said a small chant and a faint light surrounded the hat which soon shrunk a few sizes.__"There!" the man said now, handing it over to the child. The kid took the hat now and put it on his head, it fit like a glove._

"_Looking good!" the father said now and the boy's face shone with happiness now._

"_Thanks daddy!" he said with an angelic smile now, the man smiling back. __Then however everything changed, the boy's face became emotionless, the sky darkened and a chilly wind begin to blow._

"_If only you had been here..." the boy said now, his voice having changed into a clear, adult and emotionless baritone. The man had turned to look at him now, horror evident in his face. "... you could have had this." the boy's chest exploded now, a shower of black spikes shooting out of it, piercing into the man's gut and nailing him towards the tree._

"_Guah!" the man screamed, pain surging through his body and blood starting to seep from his mouth. He stared down at the wound now, seeing how the blood flooded out, before he heard the sounds of inhuman screaming. Looking up again, he was met with the sight of a giant, underground chamber, one filled with death and ashes. It was a twisted landscape, twisted and unnatural, with dead trees, black, razor-sharp sand and the feeling of death heavy in the air. Yet what drew the man's attention was the figure in front of him. It was a tall, young man, one in deep grey robes robes and with a beautiful, flawless face, one that was nevertheless filled with unemotional cruelty._

"_Look at it Thousand Master." the man said now, kneeling in front of the man and grabbing his chin. "Look at everything you lost." the man moved to the side now, a burning circle having burst into life right behind him. The young man got to the wounded man's side, held the head and forced the man to look at the images that appeared inside the burning circle._

_It was happy images, it was images of the man currently nailed against the tree. The images showed this man in a variety of different position and in all a child, the child he had bee n fishing with, was with him. Images of him tucking the child in, of him watching the child working with a small practice wand, of dropping him off at school, of climbing trees with him, of watching as the child graduated. A life was played up in front of him, a happy life, a good life._

_A life as father._

"_Do you see what you lost?" the man asked now, "It was all there for the taking. Happiness, peace, love, you had it all waiting for you in Wales. But what did you take?"_

_New images appeared now. This tie they were of a blasted landscape that once had been a school, of a hellish wasteland under the earth, of death, blood, pain, suffering, and the sight of the young man holding his chin wielding unholy powers, powers not meant to be wielded by anyone._

"_How great a move you made Thousand Master." the young man said now, taunting the wounded man. "Are you not proud over yourself? I died, you killed the big bad dark mage, only that it was your son!"_

"_No..." the man said now, blood running from his mouth and tears from his eyes. "No, no no no... I... I didn't want to!"_

"_But you did..." the young man said, "And it was your "adoptive daughter" that ended it all. Why did you not ask her how it was? How it felt to cut me away from the world and annihilate me, how it was to help daddy finally get rid of that mistake he never wanted?"_  
"_No..." the man said now, tears running down his face and grief and despair evident in his face "please Negi... Please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" the young man took up position in front of him now and held up one hand. In front of the man's face it begun to transform and change, slowly elongating it became a black blade, dripping with vitriol._

"_I know you are." the young man said now, holding the man's chin and forcing him to look at him. "Yet, you are too late, as always..." With that, he stabbed the blade into the man's skull, piercing it and nailing it to the tree._

"AAAAAHHH!" the man sat up with a scream, starting a nearby cat. Panting furiously, the drunk looked around himself. He saw that he was lying in the alley behind the club, his entire body aching, a coppery taste in his mouth and his body shaking furiously. Rolling over the man begun to puke, emptying his guts all over the alley. He retched wildly, the vomit splashing against the ground under him.

When it was over the man got to his knees again, his hands shaking and tears running from his face. He stumbled backwards, landing with his butt first against the ground and his black slamming into the wall. He raised his legs to his chest and buried his face in the knees, wrapping his arms around the head and begun to wail.

"I'm sorry..." she man sobbed, shaking wildly "I'm sorry Negi, I'm so sorry... I'm sorry!" Wailing like a baby the Thousand Master rocked slowly as he sat against the wall. The once indomitable wizard was now nothing but a shivering, broken husk, spending his days in the bars of Granicus, drinking the last of his life away. The few people who looked into the alley and noticed him turned away after only a few seconds, their contempt for the dirty, wailing bum evident on their faces. Then a shadow fell over the wailing man, the drunk did not noticed this however until a voice spoke up.

"How the mighty have fallen." a deep voice said, filled with contempt. now the bum looked up only to come face to face with a tall woman in a black, billowing cloak, with a hood pulled up over her blonde hair. Also: behind her several beautiful women in servants' clothes stood, their eyes empty and their movements robotic. His eyes widened at the sight, the drunk recognizing the woman quickly. Before he could act however the black-cloaked woman had already grabbed his throat and lifted him off the ground.

"You disappoint me Thousand Master." she said with a sneer, dangling the former mage on arm's length as she looked at his face. "I knew you would have fallen but this deep? This fast? Pathetic..."

"Uhg... ah... oh..." the bum couldn't speak now, the woman's hand nearly crushing his throat.

"Go to your last peaceful sleep Thousand Master." the woman said now, slamming the drunkard's head into the wall and knocking him out. "When you wake up you'll probably wish that you never had." she added idly as the Thousand Master went limp in her grip. Dropping the man to the ground, she motioned for her servants to pick the man up. A smile spread over her face, a vicious such. Revenge truly was a sweet brew.

* * *

"_Deflect, deflect, backstep, displacement, riposte!" _Asuna went through the steps in her head as she rapidly moved her sword, managing to either avoid or pick her opponent's attacks apart before she stepped forward herself and pierced her attacker cleanly. Kazuro's eyes widened before he vanished, appearing behind her in a blur of motion. Asuna exhaled now, stepping back to sheathe her sword as to her discomfort applause came from around her. Surrounding Asuna was over a dozen different functionaries from the court that was rapidly building around her. They had crawled more or less out of the woodwork within days and were following her around like a bunch of annoying puppies despite Kurt's alleged efforts to kick out the useless ones amongst them.

She tried to not make a big deal of it, the sucking up of courtiers and staff being something she'd have to expect according to both Takahata-sensei and Kurt. Yet, it still felt weird to have all these people swarming around her, eager to please. At least the Kazuro was honest about it all. The royal paladin turned around to face her, giving her a small bow.

"You have the speed and power of an elite knight your highness," he told her, one of his damnable smirks sitting on his lips as he said this. "Yet you let that work instead of your skill." he continued. "Please, assume the basic posture." he continued, walking around her. Assuming the posture again, Asuna ignored the angry glares given the man by the Vespertatians. Geez, just because he didn't suck up 24/7 they thought he was an asshole to her. Kazuro walked around her, using the butt of his glaive to correct her flaws. "Straighten your hips, lower your shoulders, spread your feet." He rattled off. "You're off-balance and tensed up as it is, if you meet someone with your power he'll kill you." Asuna nodded, obeying the instructions. After all this sucking up that she got to experience from everyone it was actually nice to have someone being this strict with her, it made for a good change of pace and she actually could learn something.

Why did that sound vaguely perverted to her?

Any further thoughts from Asuna stopped when her awareness of her surroundings suddenly changed instantly. She felt like her awareness was expanded so fast that it was like an explosion in her mind. A series of imagines flashed by in her head, moving so fast she could barely perceive them but nevertheless being completely clear in her head, each and every one of them.

The images were not like a movie or something, instead they were of sensations, perceptions of something that linked right into her mind. Some of them were not things she had experienced before, some were, but both were so clear. She felt the very experience of them, everything as one, coded together in that uncanny feeling of recognition.

A girl her age, with two swords gleaming and savage glee on her face. Blood spurting from the severed throat of a giant dragon. Wicked laughter bursting forth from her throat. A stern command that made the girl flinch. A name for the bloodthirsty girl and one for the person that called her to stop. Tsukuyomi, Fate. Words of certainty that the person they sought would be here. Other people with hoods obscuring their faces accompanying them. A name of the person they sought.

Kagurazaka Asuna.

Asuna got back to reality after only a few moments, nevertheless finding that she had taken a stumbling step to the side and that Kazuro had already caught her, holding her safely in his arms. She shook her head, trying to clear it of the last cobwebs, and tried to stand up.

"...highness!" Kazuro's voice was the first thing she heard when she got some grip on reality again. Asuna looked up at him to see that in his slitted eyes shock and fear had settled. Asuna realized that the people around her had all started to rush to her side. The sudden shock the vision gave her and the oncoming rush became too much for her. Instinctively, her hand clenched onto Kazuro's arm in fright and the reaction didn't have to wait. Kazuro felt Asuna's fright and acted instantly, the glaive that had been resting on the ground nearby flew up with a flick of his wrist and he swung it in a wide arc, holding the courtiers back.

"Stay away!" he snarled, his voice carrying the roar of a tiger. Asuna flinched a bit at the volume and intensity in it but nevertheless found herself to be grateful. After a pair of seconds she could get some grip on things again and got out of Kazuro's arms. Shaking her head, she tried to process what she just had seen as she started to walk in order to keep her mind going faster. Uncharacteristically, she had already got a good guess where it came from.

Mistguard, the strange beings that had pledged themselves to her must be the ones behind that. That meant she hadn't become an oracle out of nowhere, only that right now some of the deadliest mercenaries she knew of were coming for her. It probably was weird that she had adapted this fast, Asuna didn't know for sure, but after the visit to that battlefield things felt like they had become clear to her at a rapid pace. She didn't have time to mess around after all. Asuna thought about the situation, doing her best to focus on it.

Hmm... what to do? Fate and Tsukuyomi, last time it had taken Negi to take them down and they seemed to have backup. Was it on their level or were they second-rate figures? She probably shouldn't take the risk. If she wanted to stop them it was for the best to get the drop on them, Takeda had talked about initiative hadn't he? She'd only throw away lives needlessly if she sent out the army. That left...

"Your highness?" Asuna got back to reality again and turned back to look at Kazuro. Her tiger-looking paladin was looking at her with a worried expression on his face Asuna felt a bit stupid now, realizing she had walked almost a dozen meters away from the crowd. Still, she had more important things to think of and she was the princess, she could do whatever she wanted.

"Kazuro-san..." she begun, wondering how to put it. "If you were going up against someone about as powerful as the Crimson Wing... who would you bring along of all the people here?" Kazuro blinked at this, confusion settling on his face "Just answer." Asuna added, thinking that she had come up with a pretty good plan.

"Well..." Kazuro begun, starting to think, "Lord Takamichi and Goedel obviously, warlord Ormgeirr if we can find him. Sir Kagetarou, Kotaro and, humbly, myself." he finished with a slight smirk. The modesty was there for appearances, nothing else.  
"That's all we have?" Asuna asked. There had been more than six people in that group. Kazuro bowed his head slightly.

"On that level, yes." he admitted. "Yet if we need to, we could let the warlord pick some of his chosen warriors. They straddle the gap between soldier and juggernaut and a group of them are a match for even warriors on my level. Not to mention their stealth, nobody can sense that before it's too late."

"Think we can get Ormgeirr here soon?" Asuna asked, realizing that she was smiling. She still remembered the humiliation she had been subjected to in Kyoto. This time that smug bastard would get it. Kazuro thought for a second before answering.

"Approximately ten hours." he answered her. "They are hard to reach but in case of emergencies the bergafolk have ways to contact them quickly. When they get the message here they will double-time it back here."

"Won't they be exhausted then?" Asuna asked. She felt almost giddy that she had asked. She was learning quickly wasn't she? A quick image where Takahhata-sensei patted her on the head flashed by in her mind before she pushed it away. Kazuro shook his head with a smile.

"Not for long your highness." he said, "The face-marked ones are superhumanly strong and tough. They will be ready for a fight again within hours."

"A compliment from you is a rare treat." a deep voice then said. Asuna startled, looking around to try to identify the speaker. Kazuro, meanwhile, opened his eyes wide and bared his fangs in an expression of shock before he twirled the glaive in his hand and spun around, having given his weapon just enough speed to parry the attack that came at him. The air detonated right in front of Kazuro, Asuna who was standing behind him now yelping and jumping a step back. It was first after this that she got a good look on the attacker, who now was holding both hands locked on the shaft of Kazuro's glaive and whose muscles tensed as the two wrestled for control of it.

It wasn't human. That was Asuna's first thought. She saw a humanoid shape yet the skin, the face, the colors, were not a human's. Deep green scales covered the skin, all the way from the clawed hands and feet to the head where a ridge of spikes went back over the cranium. In the face a giant mouth could be seen, grinning with a feral grin and being accompanied by a pair of teal-glowing predatory eyes. The thing was naked barring some scraps of clothing around the waist. Then she saw it. Asuna felt the hairs on her back stand on end now, realizing something.

It was a human. Asuna could see that first now. The scales were in fact tattoos. Intricate, vivid tattoos so well-made it looked almost as if his outermost layer of skin was translucent and revealed the true skin beneath covered his entire body. The fingertips and the toes were clawed only insofar as that the nails were thick and sharp, the face was a human's only that it was covered with a depiction of a dragon's face, each lip holding one row of fangs. The spikes on his head were his hair, the ridge going back over his head and ending in a long, tight braid carrying a wicked-looking hook on the end.

"Ormgeirr..." Kazuro hissed quietly, both his hands holding onto his glaive.

"Kazuro." the man the paladin had referred to as Ormgeirr answered. Then his eyes shifted from the paladin to the girl behind him. Asuna felt herself being impaled by the gaze, by the sheer intensity of it. His eyes, teal and savage, felt like the gaze of a carnivore that just had found something to eat. Asuna was all of a sudden so very happy that Kazuro blocked the way between her and the newcomer. If he hadn't Asuna wasn't sure she'd have been able to remain where she stood instead of fleeing in panic. "Princess..." Ormgeirr said now, baring his real teeth in a psychotic grin. Asuna couldn't help but notice that they were just as sharp as the fangs tattooed on his lips. Ormgeirr let go of the glaive now, taking one step back and rising to his full height. He came to tower above Asuna and even stand taller than Kazuro, he had to be at least two meters tall. Kazuro remained where he stood however, letting the butt of his glaive hit the floor beneath their feet with a loud sound.

"You are in the presence of her royal highness the twilight princess-priestess of Vespertatia." Kazuro growled now, Asuna feeling the intensity in his voice like a rumbling in the very air. "Bow!" As the tiger-like paladin and the dragon-like tribal warlord stared down each other Asuna felt such pressure that she found it hard to breathe.

"I bow to no one, leash-wearer." Ormgeirr retorted, his eyes now having turned to drill into Kazuro. "Least of all not to a whelp that is neither of my blood nor a warrior's soul." an explosive growl ripped its way out of Kazuro's throat at this and Asuna could see the knuckles of the hand holding the glaive whitening. "But!" Ormgeirr raised one finger now, "Mother told me that whelp has been declared her equal. I'm here to see where that came from."

Asuna felt like she was going to groan or something. So the "son" matriarch Sylgja had talked about was this guy? This was the guy Asuna would have been forced to become a concubine for if she hadn't beaten the old hag up? She felt a shiver of disgust going through her at the thought. Kazuro remained where he stood however.

"If that is what you want then you will request an audience as everyone else." he told Ormgeirr. "Oh, sorry, I forgot I should use simple words" he then added, his trademark smugness coming into his voice, "You no talk to princess if you no ask." the smugness and arrogance in his voice was thick enough to cut with a knife and this time it was Ormgeirr got was angered, his face started twisting into a bestial snarl. Asuna got a feeling that these two were like cat and dog. Or heck, like the mythical tiger and dragon. Either way: they looked like they were taking turns taunting each other and wanting to rip out the other's throat. Time to do something.

"Boys will be boys!" she said loudly, getting the attention of both her paladin and the warlord. She stepped out beside Kazuro and took a good look on Ormgeirr. He reminded her of Kotaro, a lot in fact, and as far as she remembered the best way to get Kotaro's respect was to not be intimidated. "But you know what?" she continued, "Considering we've got a war going on and all that, shouldn't you save this for the enemy?" she looked from Kazuro to Ormgeirr, managing not to flinch when the warlord met her gaze. Kazuro lowered his eyes and muttered an apology now but Ormgeirr only leaned in, grinning at her."You have gotten some spunk back." he told her. "That's good, first time I saw you you were pretty much a vegetable." Asuna realized with a cold feeling in her gut that this guy must have seen her when she was catatonic. Not nice, she had hoped as few as possible had seen that. She kept up her facade however, taking inspiration from Olympe at Roland's bar.

"Yeah yeah, bla bla bla bla." she said after a second, not coming up with anything better. "I heard you were worth half a damn in a fight, was that just the rumor mill? Because at the moment you seem more like the kind that talks peoples' heads off instead of tearing them off." Ormgeirr blinked now, looking at Asuna with a surprised look on his face before he, after a few seconds, threw his head back and begun to roar with laughter. Like mother like son it seemed and Asuna felt halfway confident now. Perhaps she could do this.

Ormgeirr then stopped laughing however, doing so as fast as he begun. He rolled his head forwards again and leaned in towards Asuna, grinning in her face. Asuna almost took a step back and Kazuro immediately extended one of his wristblades, placing it against Ormgeirr's jugular so he couldn't come closer. Despite that the paladin was already drawing some blood from Ormgeirr's throat, the deep red almost invisible against the deep green skin, Ormgeirr seemed to not even notice it.

"You would be more convincing if you did not reek of fear, little girl." he told her, his deep voice merely a hiss now. "I am Ormgeirr. I am the Dragon's Spear. I am the madness of war incarnate. I am the spawn of Kampherre Mane, born to this world to show it true battle, true death and true terror! And _I,_ _can, smell, your, fear!" _His words only became more and more intense, at the end he was almost screaming. Kazuro now stepped forth, driving his wristblade into Ormgeirr's throat and being only a split-second from slitting his jugular. Ormgeirr leaped away in a blur of motion and landed further away, only a small rivulet of blood running down his throat. He grinned at Asuna, seemingly waiting for something. Asuna felt creeped out enough that she wanted to run away but she held her ground. She understood that she had to deal with this guy. Hoping she did the right thing, she eventually spoke up.

"I'm afraid because I'm wearing clothes right now that cost more than you'll make in your entire life..." she said slowly, keeping the tremors out of her voice and seeming calm. "You looked like you were going to drool all over it." Ormeirr kept grinning at her, eventually raising his hands to give her a small applause.

"Good enough." he said, "I'll fight alongside your people." Ormgeirr rose to his full height, towering at almost seven feet and built heavily enough that Asuna was reminded of some kind of giant attack dog. "My mother's offer still stands," he said now, "A girl like you would give birth to powerful children, I would gladly aid in this."

Asuna didn't answer that, being busy experiencing rigor mortis. Her face flushed and she felt her entire body stiffen up. What had he just said? Had he just said that he would like to help her have babies? Suddenly she wished she was somewhere else, far from here. Far away from this guy, what in sol's name had the guy just said?

"I'll... I'll remember that." she said lamely before remembering what she had been thinking about before this. "For now, do you mind killing something for me instead?"

* * *

Walking through the dark forest of the Pyriths, the hooded young girl kept her steel eyes on the surroundings. Tatsumiya Mana was not a person to drop her guard ever, not for one instant, and in this forest she was grateful for it. The black bark with its globules and droplets of resin everywhere was a disquieting place, the pine-covered ground muting her steps and creating an entire landscape of silence. What more: her demon sight gave her no comfort. There was old power in this forest. Like with the entire mountain range around her and the rest of the group it was filled with countless things, spirits, small brooks of powers, strange whirls and currents in the tapestry of reality, her demon sight had revealed an entire pandemonium of power and she eventually had to shut it off before it overwhelmed her. High magic zones did this to her sight but she had never seen anything quite as bad as this, this must be some kind of primal magic at work, a force older than humanity.

The strange feeling go to the rest of the group she was with. Her client and classmate Konoka and the pale mercenary Fate that had joined them had both mentioned a feeling of tremors in the air, like a thunderstorm about to erupt. Setsuna had tried to use the wings she had apparently been hiding up until now (not that Mana really cared, she had learned a long time ago what the samurai girl truly was) but had been grounded by the air currents above the trees being capricious, violent and merciless. Kaede's sense of smell and hearing were limited by the surroundings, the smell of resin and the dampening effect of the pine-covered ground making it hard to sense anything approaching. Ku Fei and the obviously psychotic Tsukuyomi didn't really have anything to add to that. All in all, they had entered foreign territory that according to all available intelligence would be populated with people as likely to slit their throats as helping them without any kind of reliable way to look beyond using their normal senses which here was as likely to betray them as anything else.

She had taken a lot of insane assignments but this one took the cake.

Watching how some kind of small bird flew amongst the branches above, Mana tried to see if she could use the wildlife around herself to gauge whether any hostiles approached. It made her twitchy to not be able to get a good feel for her surroundings.

That and the fact that the group walking behind her had one of the worst moods she had ever seen hovering above it. She attributed it to Fate and Tsukuyomi. The latter was obviously very deeply mentally disturbed, having slaughtered a dragon only the other day in a display of savagery and blood-thirst that could unnerve even the most hardened warrior. While Fate was much calmer and kept Tsukuyomi on as short a leash as was possible, he was still the person that had kidnapped Konoka once and Setsuna had neither forgotten nor forgiven. That led to the samurai girl glaring holes at the back of Fate's head as soon as he as much cast a glance in Konoka's general direction. Konoka, meanwhile, had her eyes mist up as soon as she even looked in the direction of Fate or Tsukuyomi which added only more drama. Things like these were why she preferred to work alone.

Enemy!

Mana's instincts acted up in the very last second, without thought, planning or consideration her guns came out and she unleashed a hail of bullets in all directions. The twin pistols cracked repeatedly as they fired as fast as they could. Yet not one bullet hit, instead each of the projectiles buried themselves in the trees around her. With her heart pounding and the adrenaline flowing Mana reloaded, leaping back to get closer to the group. In the corner of her eyes she could see that Setsuna's and Tsukuyomi's blades were out, Kaede twirling her giant shuriken, Ku Fei's sleeves being torn and that Fate had just unleashed some kind of spell. They had all instantly formed a circle around Konoka, shielding her.

"What was that?" Kaede asked, her voice seemingly calm but still strained. A small trickle of blood was running from her neck.

"Some kind of hostiles." Fate said rapidly, the steel mask not showing any emotions. "They struck to kill. Did anyone get them?"

"I glanced them at most." Mana said, gritting her teeth silently as she activated her demon eyes. "They're good."

"Whatever it was it came and went like a thunderbolt." Setsuna agreed, "I barely could draw my sword."

"Was so fast..." Ku Fei said quietly, "Already gone again." an obscene giggle came from Tsukuyomi now, the girl leering with delight at the tensions in the air. Then another laughter came and people appeared all around them. In an instant they came out of nowhere. Not standing on branches or pin-covered floor around them, not standing still or at the ready. Instead they were attacking, the veiled, grey-clothed figures came all at them. With spears in their hands and with eyes gleaming with killing intent they charged. The battle was a fact in one instant as the group counter-attacked.

A swirling, savage melee erupted now, the clash of steel, grunts and war cries filling the air. Each of the fighters in the group went for the nearest attackers barring Setsuna, who remained right in front of Konoka while having pushed her against a tree to give her a shield in that direction.

Mana danced around with lighting-fast steps that took her across the forest floor in a wide arc and with her arms moving in blurs as she took on four attackers who all danced around her, avoiding her shots with the most narrow of margins. Her demon sight let her see them yet they kept just outside her field of visions and just inside her dead angles, meaning she took as much pot-shots as the perfectly aimed deathblows she was used to.

A few dozen meters from Mana Ku Fei had to use every last bit of her agility as she whirled around and unleashed swarms of blows against her assailants. It was like fighting smoke and shadow however, she just couldn't get a good hit in. These people used methods she only had seen in some obscure wushu arts before, twisting to deflect the blows she got in and using the momentum to spin in behind her. She and her attackers both whirled up the pins on the ground with their steps and created a virtual storm of sharp needles in which they fought.

Kaede found herself in the treetops above them both, leaping back and forth and exchanging blows with her attackers in something that seemed equal parts a pinball game and a deathmatch. She found herself awed by the similarities in her attackers' to hers. And chuunin though she may be, these people had an edge in their sheer savagery. They didn't just aim to kill her, they wanted it with every last fiber of their beings, fought like a person not only desperate, but overjoyed.

Tsukuyomi, meanwhile, was nearing orgasmic levels of bliss and sheer pleasure. In her psychosis she found herself unable to fear her attackers, instead panting with delight. Slicing through branches and foliage, she and her attackers carved through the forest as they dashed this way and that in an insane dance of maneuvering as she left the rest of the group behind to indulge in her blood lust. She wanted to cut them, she wanted to slice them up open! Their fury was almost like her madness, would she see how she looked when cutting them up! She wanted blood! Death! Carnage!

Fate, meanwhile, did what he did best as he remained as still as he could. Dissemble and process. Unleashing a beam of petrifying light that almost got a few of them, he analyzed their moves. They were consummate fighters these people, aiming to get at his weak points and doing so with a focus, speed and skill that was beyond all but a few of the armed forces he had seen before.

Setsuna held her ground, deflecting every last attacker coming at her or Konoka. With her ward's back reasonably safe she could focus in the remaining four directions forward, left, right and upwards, her attackers coming from all these with an amazing speed and skill. The arts of the Shinmeiryuu carved a savage swathe around her yet the attackers just kept on coming none of her countless strikes managing to quite hit them to really wound.

In this swirling chaos it was Fate who saw it first, his eyes widening behind his steel mask when he realized that he couldn't see any of the others. He realized that they had all fallen straight into a trap! They each were divided and cut off from the others! He now weaved a spell to create a giant obsidian pillar to smash the area with and hopefully throwing up enough dust to get a second to regain his bearing. Yet it was smashed to pieces by one giant beam of light, another soon following it straight into his chest. As he dissolved into water one thought went through his head, keeping echoing in it as he reappeared out of a brook nearby.

"_Kanka."_ And indeed it was. Looking up, he saw Takahata Takamichi standing several meters away, wearing clothes much like the men that had attacked the group and with a steely look on his face. With a face etched in the serenity of steel the man unleashed another kanka blast, Fate parrying it with a wall of water.

The others had discovered much similar things. Kaede, who was standing at the highest point of the forest – an old pine tree – around them and currently several hundred meters from her original position, found her teeth clenched and cold sweat running down her brow as she just had parried one of the most savage blows she had ever received. A figure obscured by the shadows his body cast over her was currently clenching her shuriken with his bare hands and leered at her. Whoever he was he radiated animal savagery and she suddenly felt very, very small. Ku Fei had managed to get hold of one of the attackers' spears and it was only that which had saved her as a person with armour cast with the features of a tiger came at her with power and speed enough that she felt her teeth rattle as their weapons clashed. Setsuna had ended up on the defensive as another attacker, a tall, willowy man with spectacles attacked her, wielding a katana in a dazzling display of what she clearly saw was Shinmeiryuu, only executed with more grace and perfection than she had ever possessed. Tsukuyomi, meanwhile, whirled her blades around as she charged a tall, masked man in black clothes who unleashed entire swarms of black, razor sharp shadow bands at her. Mana found herself running backwards not far from the two of them, unleashing swarms of bullets against a giant, monstrous canine beast that relentlessly pursued her, the bullets bouncing off it and entire trees being ripped out of the ground if it was in its way.

None of them were handing it too well. They were separated from each other, surrounded, outnumbered and cut off from any escape routes. Their attackers were easily as skilled as them and they had the high ground, being in their own backyard. Kaede was unable to keep up with her attacker, finding herself dangling in the air as she had the life choked out of her. Ku Fei was unable to keep up, being ground to pieces bit by bit by the relentless attacker. Mana saw how the distance between her and the canine beast steadily diminished. Setsuna could not get through her attacker's defense, instead gaining cut after cut from the man's sword. Tsukuyomi was even worse, off, having managed to survive this far but still gained dozens of cuts, some of them bleeding heavily. Not even Fate was able to do anything. His magic became treacherous and unreliable in these mountains and Takamichi struck at him with full intent to kill, not giving him any chance to speak out. It would be over soon, they were dead.

Then peace settled over the entire forest. It was a strange feeling but in one instant it was everywhere, just like the light accompanying it. From where Konoka stood tidal waves of calmness and soft light flooded, wrapping everyone in the area in serenity. The girl who had been looking around herself in shock and fear had managed to recover. Weaving a spell, she had now filled the people around her with feelings of peace. It was like the embrace of a loving mother, soothing words whispered to calm you as you were wrapped in a soft, light that warmed you down to your core.

The battle ended instantly, not even Tsukuyomi was able to continue in the face of this gentle caress of her soul. All through the forest the roars of explosions, the dashing of warriors and the song of swinging steel came to an end. Silence settled over the area, shock and surprise being etched on the attackers' faces. However on one of them more was visible. On the face of Takahata Takamichi horror could be seen now. The man looked in the direction of Konoka with his face betraying horror, shock and fear all at once

"By the fates..." he whispered, realizing he knew who cast that spell and what he and the others just had been about to do to them.

* * *

Asuna pushed the two doors open, entering the large room at high speed. On the third level of the ziggurat one of the main buildings had become a sort of briefing room, the hundred square-meter room in it perfect for this. A giant table with a map on it filled the middle of the room and several chairs surrounded it. It was this room Asuna now entered, followed by Takahata-sensei and a dozen of her royal knights both. Inside the room she instantly saw a group of people who she never had expected to see here. The very sight shook her to the core.

Tahahata-sensei's report had said that the people in that group weren't enemies, but people she should come to see. Asuna hadn't known what that would mean but when she came into the room and found herself face to face with Konoka she stopped in her tracks. Of all the people she had expected to see her friend was the last one. Konoka saw her as well and for a few seconds neither of them moved, they just stood there, staring at each other.  
Asuna couldn't believe her eyes. Konoka? Why was she here? Why was Konoka here, in the magic world, in these mountains? One part of her actually became afraid. Asuna had committed herself to what she was and that Mahora was something she never could go back to. But now, with Konoka here, was that possible? Asuna didn't know what to think. It was in the end Konoka who acted, throwing herself in Asuna's arms and embracing her.

"Asuna-chan..." Konoka said as she held her friend. The feelings overwhelmed her and she had reached Asuna in three long steps, throwing herself around her old friend's neck. "Asuna-chan!" she cried out, tears streaming down her face as she laughed and cried both.

"K-Konoka." Asuna said now, stepping back to look at her friend. Her face was filled with shock and disbelief "H-How are you here?" she asked. "When did you get to the magic world, what is all this?" She looked at the rest of the group now. "Setsuna? Kaede? Mana? Ku Fei?" Asuna looked back and forth, not understanding anything ."Why are you with those two?" She pointed at the two figures standing in one corner of the room. She couldn't understand why her classmates were with those two, the people who had kidnapped Konoka. She needed to sort this out, now preferably. A reunion could wait five minutes, now she had urgent stuff to deal with.

"And a hearty "hello" to you as well, your highness." a calm voice said from the direction of the two. Somewhat muffled by the steel mask, Fate's voice was nevertheless easy to recognize. "As for the answer to your question, we were traveling in the same direction." he supplied.

Asuna looked at Fate, feeling anger over their last meeting well up inside her. "You know something?" she told him. "How about you shut up? I was asking her." she snapped as she indicated Konoka. However Konoka stopped her, putting one hand on Asuna's shoulder to stop her.

"Asuna-chan..." She said quietly, "please, don't." her voice was soft, almost hesitant. It had the desired effect however, Asuna stopped at once and looked at her friend. Why was Konoka covering for this guy, what had happened here?

"Konoka," she begun, "That's the guy who kidnapped you in Kyoto. Did I miss anything?"

"What?" Takamichi asked now, not having been aware of this tidbit, and he immediately tensed. The situation shifted now immensely to the man. The two persons he thought had been just two people of the magic world was in truth the mercenaries that had kidnapped Konoka that time in Kyoto?

"We..." Fate begun now but Asuna raised a hand immediately.

"You shut up." she said, actually turning to glare at Fate. "I want to hear this from Konoka's mouth, I trust you as far as I'd trust a snake."

"He is with us now Asuna-chan." Konoka said gently, "I trust him." when her final three words left her mouth the strength in them was undeniable. Konoka's three small words almost resounded with strength. Asuna glanced back at her friend now and eventually shook her head.

"You know Konoka." she said, "if it was anyone else saying that I'd declare them a lunatic and throw them out of here. But it's you saying it and well..." she seemed to get speechless now. Knowing the Asuna Konoka knew she'd end up just helplessly shrugging. To her surprise that did not happen however. Asuna instead looked back into one of the corners and motioned for someone to come to her. A sickly-looking, scrawny man came out of said corner, seemingly having stood there all the time.

"Your highness?" the man asked snappily.

"Get some tea for these people." she said, the man nodding and leaving nearly instantly. Asuna now turned back to Konoka and smiled at her friend.

"Look, I know you're probably tired and all." she said, "But I need to hear this whole story, you mind telling me?"

"Of course not." Konoka said, Asuna giving her two thumbs up and motioned for them all to sit down.

"Great," she said, "Let me hear this from the start."

The story took some time to go through even though Asuna listened silently. Konoka told her friend of how she had been visited by prophetic dreams one week after the events at Mahora. The dreams had kept going, every night over and over again she had had the exact same dream, eventually seeing it when she was awake as well. Eventually she had decided to go to find Asuna, Setsuna following her without question and an unlikely aid appearing when a small, talking ermine had shown up in her room. Recognizing what she had been told was Negi-sensei's pet, Konoka had trusted the animal and the tips it gave her.

As Konoka told Asuna of the trip Asuna listened intently. Konoka's trip had been an eventful one to say the least but Asuna couldn't help but thinking that it sounded almost sedate compared to hers, only a few... was it only a few weeks ago? It felt like a lifetime.

"Wow..." Asuna said when the story was done, impressed even though it was nothing special compared to her trip. Smiling to herself, she shook her head. It was still a bit hard to grasp it all. "Well: welcome to the magic world, hope you've enjoyed the insanity this far." Konoka giggled at this and for a second Asuna felt like everything was back to how it had been long ago, before Negi came to Mahora, before her life had been turned upside down. Yet... it wasn't. Things would never go back to that. Asuna had already committed herself to the present and Konoka, as much as Asuna was happy to have her here, only complicated things. "But you're going back home right now." She said, feeling like an utter jerk. Konoka blinked at this, surprise appearing on her face.

"Asuna-chan..." Konoka begun but was interrupted by Asuna, who raised one hand to stop her.

"I am not Asuna-chan any more." she said solemnly. "I am her royal highness Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia." she said the entire name in one go, having finally managed to memorize the blasted thing. "I'll give you the short version of all this: Who you thought you knew at Mahora was not the real me, it was a facade created when they sealed my memories to stop me from going insane from the horrors I saw as a child. They took me to Mahora so I could have a shot at a good life but as you can see that didn't work. Strangely enough it's safer for me to join my people in exile and try to oust the most powerful nation in the world from my homeland. Either way, the point I'm trying to make is that I can't guarantee your safety here, we're in a full scale war and it's not looking too good as it is. "

"But that's why I'm here!" Konoka exclaimed. "Asuna-chan, these dreams of mine aren't just dreams. They mean something; nowadays I see things before they happen, sometimes days before it happens."

"Be that as it may, I won't put you in harm's way." Asuna said, wishing that her friend wouldn't struggle so badly.

"Konoka-ojou-sama's safety is not your concern." Setsuna butted it now, her voice harsh. Asuna actually startled a bit at the tone. "I am her bodyguard, not you, and I will see to her safety."

"Setsuna..." Asuna begun now, "I'm not trying to question your skill but that's not good enough. We're at war, a war against the most powerful nation in this world, can you defend Konoka against an army? Against flying battleships? Against demon giants powerful enough to be on almost the same level as that titanic demon in Kyoto?"

"Asuna-chan!" Konoka yelled now, stopping her friend. "I know it's dangerous. I've been in danger before, Negi-sensei took me when he fell, remember?" Asuna flinched almost as if she had been slapped now. "You're not the only one who's changed." Konoka continued now as she stepped back from the table. "When Negi-sensei took me he changed me, he gave me power. Power I still have." At this Konoka raised her hands and then there was light. A soft yet intense light flowed out from her, filling every last corner of the room. With it, came peace and serenity. It was as if a blanket was draped over everyone in the room, everyone barring Asuna. Around Asuna a dome of seeming darkness could be seen, the darkness in truth being nothing but the absence of this light. This orb surrounded the girl, shielding her from the magic. Nevertheless, everyone else present in the room got something absent in their eyes, being wrapped in a blanket of comforting feelings. Takahata-sensei, who stood behind Asuna, leaned forwards now to whisper some words to Asuna.

"Konoka subdued the entire battle like this." the man said. his words were filled with serenity and hope, like nothing could ever go wrong. "Not even Ormgeirr could go on when Konoka did this... I don't think even Albiero could weave something this powerful."

Asuna didn't feel anything of the magic, her magic cancel stopped it completely. Yet she could see the effect the spell had on the others. Also: she trusted Takahata-sensei and hearing that even Ormgeirr had been subdued by that spell awed her. She suddenly found herself uncertain of what to do. She needed all the help she could get and power like that would be massively helpful. But still... it was Konoka. Her best friend still had a life in the normal world and a war like this would cut her off from it. Asuna didn't know what to do. As Konoka's spell died out the princess sighed, not knowing what to do.

"This might be a good time for our story as well." Fate's voice cut through the silence, Asuna turning to look at him. She recognized the voice but with the robes and the metal mask it could be anyone. Thankfully it was distinct enough that she didn't feel like she was watching someone who tried to be Negi during those last days of his life. Negi's robes had been much like just one sheet, without seams or anything like that and his mask smooth. Fate, meanwhile, wore a robe that was much more form-fitting, at least enough to give a rough idea of his built and his mask was polished metal with stylized facial features on it.

"Fine." Asuna said. Konoka had been tight-lipped about Fate's story, only saying that they had met on the ship. It was evident that something had happened but what that was Asuna didn't have any idea about. She'd have to give the prick at least basic courtesy at the moment though. "let me hear it."

"That giant beast that attacked us along with the rest of your servants." Fate begun, "I know who it is." Asuna felt a sinking feeling in her guts at this. Of course, Kotaro and Fate had been Negi's slaves both. And knowing what she knew of Fate, wouldn't he have figured out like everything around the whole thing? The man practically radiated intelligence. "Do you?" Fate continued and Asuna nodded slowly.

"I do." she said, not trusting her voice with anything more.

"Good, it will simplify this." Fate said. "After what happened at Mahora we were all scarred. The soldiers who faced down endless legions of nightmares, the people of Mahora who saw their home being torn apart, those who witnessed the arrival of Malfeas into this world, those who were enslaved by his lieutenant. Some were more scarred than others, we who were the bondsmen of the black seal even more so."

"Where are you going with this?" Asuna asked.

"My attire and Tsukuyomi's mannerisms are here for a reason." Fate said, "they are due to the scars we gained on that day. Beneath this mask my skin is wasting away. Tsukuyomi's mentality has steadily degenerated into psychotic blood lust. They are both the scars we carry after Mahora. Before you ask, I do not know how Konoe avoided being affected or what became of the maga nosferatu." Fate added. Leaning back in his chair now, he reached into his clothes.

"I come here for the same reason as Konoe, however I offer something more solid than merely the aid of two people you evidently do not trust." Fate now took out a small book bound in brown leather from his clothes and put it on the table. "I offer this: the journal of Negi Springfield." Asuna looked like she had gotten slapped now; staring at the book. Fate placed one hand demonstratively on the book. "This, along with mine and Tsukuyomi's allegiance will be..."

"Where did you get that!" Asuna asked now, her voice was shivering and her eyes wide as she stared at the book.

"I took it from those who confiscated it after the battle of Mahora," Fate said, "By force if you must know. It will be yours, if you accept our allegiance, grants us the sanctuary of your nation and accept waiting until I am done copying it."

"Why are you copying it?" Asuna asked, looking from the book to the steel mask Fate wore. A storm of raging emotions was visible on her face, not easily identified or placed but nevertheless there, burning through her newly acquired mask of calmness.

"If anything holds the secrets to undoing what happened to me and Tsukuyomi, this is it." Fate gave as explanation. "I will not give up my only salvation." The finality in his words was massive, it was very clear where he stood on the matter and equally such that he was not budging. Asuna ended up just looking at him, silence reigning for several seconds. In the end, it was Asuna who spoke.

"You'll have my answer tomorrow..." she said quietly, her voice neither quivering nor breaking and instead being completely calm. Fate nodded his head respectfully at this.

Asuna groaned as she sat down by the table in her room, letting herself sag together and bury her face in the arms she had folded on said table. This sucked! Not enough that she had to rule a nation while knowing nothing about it, now she had to deal with the fact that her friend had come after her and refused to leave. And along with that friend? One of the people she had pegged as an enemy. Sol's light, what did she do to deserve this mess? Both Sol Transitus and the Buddhism she had paid mostly lip service to in Japan believed in reincarnation and Asuna found herself wondering who she was in a previous life to deserve this. The freakiest of all these things was the fact that she nearly had caused Konoka's death, Konoka and several others of her classmates.

Being in her seat sucked, pure and simple. For the first time she had felt like she did something all right, she had gotten the drop on what she believed was the enemy, acted offensively, surprised them and been about to take them down. Only that said "enemy" was not an enemy at all, they were escorting her best friend! Served her right for thinking she had gotten the hang of commanding…

Looking out through the window, Asuna saw the mists creep in again. A stray thought came to her that she should call on mistguard or something, ask for an explanation as to why he/they hadn't told her who the others were. She didn't however, it was not their fault, it was hers. Asuna felt a twinge of actual fear as her mind danced on the outskirts of the thought of what would have happened if Konoka hadn't stopped it all. To think that she almost had killed her best friend…

A knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and she felt like she wanted to scream. Why couldn't she get five minutes of peace? She was half a mind to ask whoever it was to get lost but she didn't, instead speaking up.

"Come in." she said and the door opened. In the doorway one of her royal knights appeared. Kazuro had not been the only one of those, there were fifty of them all in all and they were all very similar to him in many ways. Completely(dared she say fanatically?) loyal to her, heavily armed and armored and very triggerhappy (bladehappy?) whenever something seemed to threaten her. They also all wore decorated armors with different animal motifs. Asuna guessed said tradition came from the bergafolk, the temple guards of the bergafolk running a very similar theme and all. Said royal knight was a tall, red-haired woman with a hawk-theme on her armor. She carried her helmet under one arm and bowed to Asuna as she stood in the doorway.

"Mister Fate Averuncus humble requests an audience with you, your highness." The woman said, making Asuna's eyes narrow. Fate? "He said it was a matter of utmost importance." The woman added. Asuna, however, was already halfway to asking him to go away. She rose from her chair, feeling her hackles rise, when something stirred in the corner of her room. Kotaro rose from the floor, the giant animal whining. Trotting up to the door, Kotaro muscled himself out past the female knight and out into the hallway. Asuna was unable to stop him and instead ended up following, being treated to a strange sight as he got out into the hallway.

Kotaro walked around Fate, sniffing at him with his tails between his legs and hearth-wrenching whines escaping him. Fate, meanwhile, stood stiffly in the middle of the room and seemed to ignore the whining animal. It was initially as if it was an unimportant nuisance to him. Yet, after a few seconds he raised one hand and put it on the animal's head, instantly provoking Kotaro to rub his head against it. The awkwardness of Fate's movements and the sincerity of Kotaro's created a strange contrast to each other. After a few seconds Fate seemed to remember where he was and pulled back from Kotaro. Ignoring the subsequent whining from the animal, he looked at Asuna and bowed his head.

"I hope I do not inconvenience you, your highness." he said, his voice subdued and raspy. It sounded like he had screamed himself hoarse, screamed or cried, Asuna didn't know which and both sounded just as implausible. Asuna looked at the situation and after a short while she sighed. If it was good enough for Kotaro it had to be good enough for her. She shrugged and stepped aside, motioning for Fate to come inside and sit down. The man obeyed without a word and Asuna soon sat down as well, looking straight at him. The situation was weird, no way to get around that, but Asuna kinda had gotten used to it. That yesterdays enemies would become today's allies seemed to fit kinda in to it all.

"I apologize for my intrusion." Fate said, his voice was even more subdued now, almost hesitant. "I will be brief, the reason I am here is this." he put a scroll on the table, pushing it over to Asuna. "I am willing to change our deal in your favor. You may freely use this if you so desire." he pulled back, leaving the scroll in front of her. Asuna looked down on it. It seemed unremarkable enough, a piece of parchment with a red wax seal on it. Yet Asuna didn't touch it, she had learned that much.

"What is it?" she asked Fate while she looked up at him.

"It is a command word that will rob me of all free will for as long as the speaker desires." Fate said succinctly. Unaware of how Asuna instantly recoiled mentally from the scroll he continued. "Barring that I will still research a cure for Tsukuyomi's and mine condition I will be yours to command as you see fit."

"Are you out of your god damn mind!" Asuna exclaimed now, staring at Fate. The girl's face was a mask of revulsion, "Do you seriously think I would do something like that!"

"You do not trust me." Fate said, as calmly as always. "This would solve that issue. If you feel uncomfortable that it will be correlating to your former magister, don't. I give this of my own free will. If you pause to consider it you will see it is the best option. As a monarch you cannot have an agent of my power you cannot trust, therefore I give you this to solve it."

Asuna found herself speechless, staring at Fate with both her eyes and her mouth wide open. What in the name of Sol... was he out of his bloody mind? Had the rot reached his brain! She just couldn't comprehend it, only a few weeks ago he had been a slave to the fallen Negi, was he seriously trying to trade it away again! Now matter how she tried to think of it she just couldn't get it. In the end she asked him.

"Why are you doing this?" she asked him, shaking her head slowly. "Are you so desperate that you want to trade away your freedom? What did I miss here? You showed up here, as smug as when you humiliated me in Kyoto and now all of a sudden you're doing this? Why?" Fate's steel mask did not show if he felt anything and for several seconds not one sound could be heard. Not even Kotaro made any sound, the giant animal had sat down next to Fate and looked at him with the head tilted to one side.

"I have just spent two hours finding a way to restrain Tsukuyomi." he admitted after a while. "The psychological degeneration seems to only speed up and she's becoming more and more violent. If worst comes to worst I am afraid I will have to put her in stasis by petrifying her until a cure can be found. Otherwise I fear she will end up killing someone."

Asuna blinked at this, surprised by Fate's blunt admission. Fate, who leaned back and clasped his hands, almost managed to communicate his worry through both steel mask and a rigid posture.

"I cannot take any chances with this, without a safe haven I will be unable to save her." Fate admitted, there was nothing self-pitying or complaining in his voice, merely a blunt statement of facts. "Also: in the current situation I deem my offer to be a reasonable sacrifice to..."

"Reasonable sacrifice my ass!" Asuna stood up now, livid, and slapped the scroll away. Fate and Kotaro startled at her actions both and Asuna came to tower over him. "For the love of Sol, is this something all guys do or is it just the teenage super mages I stumble across! What's with this martyr syndrome, why are you, who possess the ability to help more people than anyone else, so determined to throw life, soul or whatever away just to maximize return!"

Asuna let it all out now, anger nearly choking her as she spat out every last of her wondering about Negi, all the thoughts and questions that his actions had raised in her. Fate, meanwhile, sat still as he was lambasted by Asuna for his plans to give her his free will. He did not move, the steel mask not showing the least hint of what he was thinking. Asuna kept berating however, for nearly fifteen minutes she let Fate know exactly what she thought of his offer and what he could do with it. When she was done she breathed harshly, Kotaro had retreated into one of the corners of the room and Fate still did not move, merely stared at her. For almost a minute things were silent, Asuna sat down with eyes still blazing and Fate kept quiet.

"I take it my offer is not acceptable then." Fate said after a while, Asuna snorting.

"What tipped you off?" she asked angrily. "In fact, let's do this." Asuna grabbed the scroll and threw it into the open fireplace near her. Fate stood up, a choked cry coming from him, but that was all he could do before the scroll exploded. Asuna jumped to the side, green smoke beginning to pour out of the fireplace and a sharp, stinging smell filling the room.

About two minutes later she and Fate both stood outside, the entire building having been emptied and several mages working to contain the green smoke pouring out of the building. Asuna stared at the sight, panting, as Fate stood beside her as calm as usual.

"I shouldn't have done that, right?" Asuna found herself asking dumbly, feeling almost like she was back at Mahora, about to be berated for something she had done.

"No." Fate said succinctly, "That smoke there is toxic enough to kill a dragon if needed, we were lucky to get out."

"Then why the heck do they make scrolls with it?"

"Because magical scrolls are not meant to be thrown into fires." Fate answered her, his voice dry as desert sand. Asuna flinched at this.

"Noted." she said, "Okay that's it." she continued after a second, Fate glancing at her. "You're in, from now on you're my personal adviser on magic. We haven't really had anyone like that thus far, you'll do." Fate looked at her, Asuna noticing his eyes and shrugging. "Yeah I might be an idiot, I'm winging it really. But hey, if Konoka vouches for you I can't really object," she looked at Fate now, smiling at her. "Can I?"

"You are taking a large risk, your highness." Fate said, bowing his head to her.

"Hey I'm leading a suicidal battle against the most powerful army in the world, what do you expect?"

Asuna marveled at how easily the conversation flowed. It wasn't like chatting with Negi, more like a (and she knew it would be a scandal if she ever said it to anyone else) a Tsukkomi-Boke routine, with she as the Boke. Still, for some reason it all fit in to her. The magic world was like this, it was just to work with it. Therefore, she wasn't even surprised when she found out, only an hour later, that Konoka had already installed herself for a more permanent stay. Even without anyone telling her she figured that eh, oracles were like that.


	18. Broken moon, broken hopes, broken soul

Chapter 18: Broken moon, broken hopes, broken soul

* * *

Setsuna had just seen to Konoka as the girl went to bed, managing to keep the facade up to the end. As she shut the door to Konoka's room and came out into the empty hallway, however, she collapsed. Falling down on her knees, she felt how the panic suddenly flooded all her mental barriers and all her self control. Ragged gasps came from her, panic and shock robbing her of any and all ability to act coherently. A mantra played in her head, denial, grief and shock burning like poison in her guts.

Kotaro... Kotaro! He was here, he was that animal! She had understood what Fate had hinted at, the eyes of the beast also making the truth evident. Setsuna felt like she was going to puke, the gasps slowly turning into ragged sobs. He was here! He had become that animal! With painful clarity, she remembered the stories she had heard while still living amongst her demon kin, of the lost. Those who lost all, found no reason to be sapient anymore and degenerated to animals. Kotaro had become that! Again and again she remembered that morning at Mahora, where she had spat on his love, thrown it into his face. Clutching herself, she curled into fetal position and slowly rocked on the floor, the sobs continuing as she shivered.

What had she done? By all the gods, was there no end to the pain she caused him! Feeling her love for him burn in her, tormenting her, Setsuna found herself mauled by the facts lined up for her. It was her fault! It was her fault! She had made him become an animal! She! Setsuna felt such loathing, such self-hatred as she never had felt before well up inside her, all of it aimed at her. Her nails dug into her skin, panic making her try to find some release, any release, and the fingernails dug into her skin hard enough that soon the blood seeped down her exposed arms. The one person that had torn down her barriers, the one person she had wanted to be with, she had made him into a beast, an animal. His personality was gone, lost to the animal, and he would never come back. She had tainted him, destroyed him!

"Stop it..." the girl sobbed to herself, "Stop it!" she tearfully hissed, gritting her teeth as she raised one hand and bit down upon the fist. The physical pain managed to clear her head, hunt away the pain inside long enough that she could slam down the iron bars that was her willpower around it and seal it inside her again, as she had done before. Setsuna remained on her knees for a few more seconds before she got up again, wiped her eyes with her arm and took a deep breath. Clenching her fists in her hair, she kept pushing at her emotions in an attempt to calm down.

She had done it, she had destroyed him. That was her punishment, that pain would forever be with her, a reminder of what she did, that she couldn't allow herself to dream. That was not for her, she only had her duty, that was all she was and all she would ever be. She had sealed her feelings and she would do it for the rest of her life if needed. Motoko-sempai had been wrong that time, as samurai you had to be a machine, otherwise others would only suffer for it. Duty or personal feelings, it wasn't even a choice for her, she knew it and by the gods she would stick to it.

"I swore my oaths," Setsuna slowly intoned to herself, "I know what I must do, and I will." it was a mantra she had chanted these last weeks whenever her doubts and her weakness threatened to overwhelm her. As she had before, she shut away her emotions, hopes and dreams, leaving only a barren wasteland named duty, the one thing meant for her.

* * *

The water hit the drunkard in the face with a loud splash, making him cry out in shock as he was torn back to the land of wakedness. At first he couldn't see anything, the water in his eyes blinding him. The man shook his head to rid himself of it and when he stopped the first thing he saw as he opened his eyes was a woman sitting in front of him on a wooden armchair. Blonde, green-eyed and voluptuous, the woman clothed in expensive, blood red silks that was currently looking at him with a smirk on her face was one he, to his shock, recognized.

"Hello again Thousand Master." Evangeline said with a smile as she sat with her legs crossed and one elbow on the armrest, supporting her head. Her other hand was playing a soft staccato against the other armrest and the smile on her lips was a cruel one. She sat like a queen, regal, proud and powerful. He had almost forgotten how beautiful her glamor was.

"E-Eva-chan?" the filthy man said with disbelief in his voice.

"Surprised to see me?" Evangeline asked mildly, the velvet in her voice nevertheless carrying an undertone of steel. "You did not expect me to find you?" Nagi looked around himself, seeing that he was surrounded by several green-haired dolls, all of them staring impassively at her. They were somewhere southernly, Evangeline having a giant jungle behind her and they all were on top of a large pyramid of some kind. Where was this? The old world? The magical? Nagi didn't know. He was brought back to the situation at hand quickly however, one of the dolls backhanded him so hard he fell on his back and gave up an exclamation of pain.

"Answer me when I ask you something." Evangeline said, her voice becoming more and more steely. Anger started to smolder in her eyes, or rather it had always been there, it only became stronger now. Nagi shook his head, tried to clear it somewhat, and in the end managed to squeeze out the first of the many questions on his mind.

"H-how did you...?" the throat choked up, he felt like shit and could barely focus. "How did you break the spell?"

"Oh you mean the spell you swore you'd release me from but didn't?" Evangeline asked acidly, making Nagi flinch somewhat as she pointed out his failed promise to her. "Let's just say that there are some people who can clean up after your messes; aren't you lucky to have such friends?"

"What?" Nagi didn't understand, wasn't that impossible? What was this? "W-who?"

"Who knows." Evangeline said. "That's not what matters here though. Take a good look at your arms." Nagi blinked dumbly now and looked down to see something strange on his arms. Each of them was marked with a black circle going around it just below the wrists, black circles with magical symbols on each side. "You should recognize the principle behind them." Evangeline continued, almost purring. Nagi only stared at the marks, not managing to identify them at first. Then, however, he remembered something. These kind of marks... they were those, weren't they? This was the kind of marks denoting a sealing spell. If he read this correctly, this seal would seal off his magic. What more, he couldn't find any time limit on it.

"Magic sealing..." he said, starting to feel a bit worried. This wasn't good was it?

"Applause." Evangeline said, smirking viciously. "Take a good look down at the forest now, looks like a pleasant place, doesn't it?" Nagi looked down, seeing only kilometer after kilometer of thick, primeval jungle. In the distance he heard the roar of a dragon. "Pleasant" wasn't the word he'd use really.

"What about it?" he asked as he looked back to Evangeline only to see her out of her seat and right in front of him. Before he could do anything he was lifted into the air, gripped by the throat again by the woman. Evangeline's eyes blaze now, hate and anger filling them, rendering her visage inhuman. Nagi croaked, his hands futilely flying up to try to force her hand off his throat.

"You broke your oath to me Thousand Master." the vampiress hissed. "I do not care for your excuses, you left Mahora without releasing me. For that you will suffer! You're nothing now, reduced to a mere mortal, and I'll let you live here in fear the rest of your life. You have ten minutes, run away if you can. Ten minutes, then I'll come after you, I'll drain you to the brink of death and revive you a thousand times over!" With that, Evangeline flung Nagi down the stairs of the giant pyramid. The Thousand master did not manage to recover and grunted in pain as he hit them, beginning a long, painful descent down the stairs. He did not manage to stop before he hit the ground, for a full minute he crashed time and time again into the hard rock stairs, being thoroughly bruised when he came to a stop. Groaning, he looked up at the stairs, seeing Evangeline stand there, towering at the top of the stairs.

"Run, Thousand Master." the immortal vampiress said, her voice malicious. "Run if you want to spare yourself a world of pain, run for the rest of your pathetic existence!" Nagi couldn't help but be terrified, he looked at Evangeline and saw nothing of who he remembered, only the vampiress people had talked of. He eventually got to his feet, stumbling away from the pyramid in an effort to escape her. The Thousand Master's suffering had begun.

* * *

The Vespertatian insurrection, or the Enslaver war as the Vespertatians and those sympathetic to their plight, called it, reached hitherto unseen levels of intensity in weeks after the princess' return. The Vespertatian resistance, already well organized and tough, found a massive reservoir of strength in the continued existence of the royal house of Entheofushia. The irregular, fast-paced warfare that started on a large scale became a nightmare for Megalomesembrian commanders to adapt to. The border areas between Vespertatia proper and the Pyrith mountains had been blasted to a flat wasteland, a three-kilometer long buffer zone constantly monitored in an effort to keep the Vespertatians contained but it was all for naught.

Time and time again troops of mobile Vespertatians slipped through this buffer zone and harassed their enemies in countless different ways. Infiltration assaults where at one time over a thousand Vespertatians managed to get within a dozen meters of the enemy before they were discovered. Ambushes against columns of soldiers where the sides of the roads were mined so that when the enemy tried to seek cover they ran straight into the mines. Sabotage attacks that at one point saw six ships crippled by only twenty infiltrators. No matter where the Megalomesembrians were they were not safe, not even inside their bases. This was shown by the infamous-to-be incident where a Vespertatian prostitute taken to a Megalomesembrian base was discovered to carry dozens of explosive seals on her two seconds before she detonated them tight in the middle of a filled barracks. The Megalomesembrians' already strained relationship with the Vespertatian people took a dive for the worse after this. High Command's abysmal response, mass arrests and five public executions, only caused a general uprising that left over a hundred people dead.

Yet the Megaolmesembrians did not find themselves lacking answer. The state of Megalomesembria hadn't become the most powerful military power in the world by mere brute force. A system of infiltration and espionage was implemented which despite the savagery of the tactics, mind-magic interrogations, ensuring the loyalty of moles in the resistance by threatening their families etc, made many ambushes and attacks into deathtraps for the Vespertatians. Lighter units of infantry was set up, coordinating with "loyalists" as those Vespertatians who chose to serve the Megalomesembrian state rather than Vespertatia were called. They moved out into Vespertatia's forest, swamps and mist-filled mountains and tried to flush out the resistance strongholds outside the Pyrith mountains. The battles there became drawn-out, painful affairs, slow, bloody wars of attrition. What more the Megalomesembrians started more and more shoot at the least hint of enemies, burning down entire swathes of forest as soon as they spotted something moving there.

Furthermore, in the mountains Vespertatia now ruled completely. They had forged their beat-up and stolen ships, their once disorganized and poorly equipped soldiers and the willful bergafolk allies into one, coherent, professional and tough fighting force. Megalomesembrian high command decided in the end to not even try to go into the mountains, the risks were too great. At least for now that was, back in the homeland millions of drachma and over a thousand mages worked on deciphering the riddles of the Pyrith mountains. If they could move safely into the mountains they could attack en masse, wiping the resistance main bases from the planet, something that would cripple their efforts outside of the Pyriths immensely. Throughout the nation the brutality, the relentlessness and the suffering caused by the war increased tenfold, in the end it became evident that something would have to give.

* * *

Fate could not help but feel respect for Negi Springfield. After months of work on the journal of his once enemy, then enslaver, he had only now gotten somewhere in deciphering the thoughts behind it. Sitting in the library that the Vespertatian resistance had managed to build up in Othila, he felt like his mind was swimming. The level of the genius shown in this book made him feel like an amateur. Despite his more subdued personality and ways of operating there was no less pure force present in Negi's works compared to the Thousand Master, only it was cerebral force rather than his father's force of action. His mind seemed to have operated on an entirely different level, the kind of genius that made it all seem so easy. This, combined with his thorough methodology and attention to details, made the book Fate just was reading a fascinating riddle, one that most people wouldn't be able to comprehend despite it being as clear as it could be. Normal people simply would be too stupid to understand this brilliance.

Fortunately, Fate could understand it. It was difficult, many times he found himself stumped and had to retrace his steps which undid hours of work at times. He made progress though, however slight. He had to. Tsukuyomi had vanished into a total psychosis weeks ago, forcing Fate to petrify her. The girl now lay safely inside her room, petrified in her sleep. When he woke her up she would not know what had happened and hopefully she would be back to normal.

In his determination to save Tsukuyomi he did not even think of himself. His body had wasted away more and more, the aid Konoka could give with her healing magic temporary at best. His clothes he wore now were mainly to keep his body together, sheer will being what kept him from degrading mentally. No matter what happened, Tsukuyomi's mental restoration was on top of the list, the girl had suffered because of her association with him, Thanatos had not planned to claim her but done so since she was with Fate that time. In a way, Fate carried the responsibility for what had happened to her.

The worst part was that there were still uncertainties, things that he could not know whether the spell would truly work. Negi had been gambling, playing with high stakes and won in the end. Yet this book did not reveal what method he had used, reverse engineering a spell that would undo the effects would be a leap of faith, if he didn't do everything correct the result would be catastrophic. He had only one shot at it, if he didn't succeed Tsukuyomi would never come back.

He was interrupted in his thoughts by the sound of footsteps behind him. Looking back, he saw that Asuna had entered the library, the giant animal that once was Kotaro following her as usual. Fate inclined his head towards Asuna, a sense of respect having developed towards the young princess

"Your highness." he said politely, Asuna nodding towards him as well.

"Hey there." she said. It was curious to see, in official situations she had adapted well, being capable of the mannerisms and speech of a monarch, yet as soon as it became unofficial she was as much the same old, direct, tomboyish girl as she had been in Kyoto when he first met her. "How's it going?" she asked him, Fate pondering what she hoped to achieve with these visits. Obviously she'd have a personal interest in the journal but the work he had done wasn't of interest to her, it was purely academic, purely theoretical.

"Slowly." he admitted after a second. "There is still too much an element of uncertainty to it. I cannot raise the odds more than I have now." Asuna got a worried look on her face at this.

"So what will you do?" she asked him. "Is there any way you can... I dunno, field test it or something?"

"Only on Tsukuyomi or myself," he said "Also a failed spell would be catastrophic results."

"So it's basically a leap of faith then?" Asuna asked, making Fate pause and consider her words. That it was, wasn't it? He couldn't go any further with it as it was, also even petrified Tsukuyomi was slowly degenerating. Waiting would achieve nothing. Still...

"I am reviewing at the moment, trying to find something that might help better the odds." Fate glanced back at the books.

"You think you'll find anything?" Asuna said, there was something pondering in her voice. "Or are you more afraid that you haven't done all you could?" At this Fate was given pause. Looking back at Asuna, he was silent for a second before he spoke up.

"Quite the vicious thing to say your highness." he remarked, Asuna flinching somewhat at his rebuke. "Yet, it is a reasonable question." Fate looked at his notes, admitting to himself that yes, there doubts, there were questions floating around in his mind. Had he done all he could? Rationally he had, yet something still picked away at his mind. It was vexing, but he could not bring himself to ignore it.

"Sorry." Asuna said now, "It's just... I can't help but think of how I would have thought in your situation."

"And that is?" Fate looked back at her again.

"Negi." Asuna shrugged. Fate slowly nodded, having understood that she and his former enslaver had been close. His death must have been highly traumatic for the girl, not to mention her past and the sudden influx of memories as the death of her family returned to her. It made sense that the bergafolk had had to put her mind together again with magic. A pity that method would not work here too. "I spent a lotta time thinking on whether I had done all I could." Asuna continued "It was the doubts that was the worst parts in some ways."

"And what conclusion did you reach?" Fate asked, gaining a genuine interest in this now.

"That either I moved on or I'd kill myself." Asuna said. "There's what I can affect and what I can't, better to focus on the latter. The magic helped too"." she added dryly.

"A rational viewpoint." Fate admitted.

"No, no, no." Asuna corrected, "The only viewpoint." Fate fell silent at this, pondering what she said. She was correct, was she not? Fate went through the spell one more time. The theories behind it were solid, he had checked that three times. The disposition and the focus was top-notch, of course, and the same held true for the requirements. There really was no more he could do. Slowly nodding, he stood up and collected his notes. Gathering them up and putting them in a folder, he looked back at Asuna.

"The only viewpoint." he quoted Asuna. "I suppose there is no time like the present." Asuna seemed somewhat taken aback by Fate's actions but after a pair of seconds she had recovered. Raising her hands, she gave him two thumbs up and smiled.

"Good luck." she said. Fate nodded at her and headed out. Fate made his way towards Tsukuyomi's room, going over the details one more time. It would be a risk, a big one. Yet: fortune favored the bold.

* * *

The petrifaction slipped off the unconscious Tsukuyomi as if it was water, the stone receding and being turned into flesh. Her brown hair became soft again, her clothes became fabric, she returned to life. Fate towered above the unconscious girl, thinking that there was a strange resemblance to the story of sleeping beauty. Fate would not awake her with a kiss however, he'd awake her with magic.

Calling forth his magic, he focused as he started to intone the words he were to use. The spell needed no components to be cast, only power. It wasn't the magnitude that mattered, it was the precision. This was the most important spell he had ever cast. Alien anxieties an hesitation boiled up in him but he quashed them ruthlessly. He was not allowed to hesitate. Not here.

"Visju Tal Li Sjutal Vangèi..." Fate begun, feeling the surge of magic inside him. The words of the spell came to him easily, a calm settling over him as he waved the spell, every syllable being spoken with perfect intonation and order. It started taking shape around him, arcane patterns being woven over Tsukuyomi. A beam of light came out of his hand now, shooting down into her head as he slowly, slowly picked her together again.  
This was magic not easily categorized. It was not healing, it was not mind-magic, it was not thaumaturgy. It was on its own type of spell, magic beyond the constraints normal mages had upon the magic they used. This was the ancient ways, the true magic as many would call it. The art of imposing one's will upon creation.

Fate did not know how long he stood there, carefully completing the arduous task of saving Tsukuyomi, but in the end the magic died, vanished as the spell was completed. Looking down on the girl, Fate wondered if it had worked. If it had she'd soon be back to normal, making jokes and annoying him. No sense in waiting, Fate undid the sleeping spell and Tsukuyomi's eyes instantly shot wide open. For a pair of seconds everything was silent and then he spoke.

"I said I would undo it." Fate said to Tsukuyomi, the girl blinking slowly. She seemed to be in a daze, slowly sitting up and shaking his head. Fate stepped back, looking calmly at her. It was to be expected, in a situation like this one would be confused. Picking up the two blades that were hers, he held them out to her, gave her something to remember. Tsukuyomi's eyes, wide and confused, came to rest on the two blades, her hands slowly rising to touch them. "Welcome back." Fate said.

That was also all he had time to say before his arm was cut off. The shock was total for him, the appendage landing on the ground with a thud as adrenaline kick-started Fate. Five seconds later the entire house they were in detonated, the explosion echoing over Othila. Heads turned to look towards the house all over the town, including those of Asuna. Having been heading towards the upper echelons of the ziggurat, Asuna stared back at the explosion, knowing very well who had used that house. It did not take long before she started to sprint, heading down towards the house again.

It took only moments to reach the house but when she reached it all she saw was a giant cloud of smoke. Pushing her way thought the crowd that had formed, Asuna got to the front row and stared in horror at the sight. What had happened? Asuna found her mind going through all the worst scenarios. Had the magic made something explode? Where was Fate and Tsukuyomi

As if to answer her questions a figure came out of the darkness, sliding along the ground back towards her and stopping only a few meters from her. The figure was Fate, Asuna seeing to her horror that he was missing one arm and that his robes were sliced up in several places.

"Stay back!" Fate yelled hoarsely. "I failed, she's become totally psychotic!" Asuna felt his words like a kick to the gut, at first she couldn't process what he meant but all too soon she did. He hadn't done it, he had failed. But what had become of Tsukuyomi? Psychotic? A giggle came from the dust cloud at this, Asuna looking up to see a lithe figure approaching them through it. It was Tsukuyomi that came out of the dusk, both her swords out and her face locked in a bloodthirsty smile, inhuman and terrifying.

"So many dolls, so little time." she whispered, Asuna only barely hearing what the girl was raving about. Yet even if she hadn't heard what she said it was evident, above all doubt, that the girl Asuna currently watched, was insane.

"Get out of here!" She yelled, ordering the people around her to flee. "Get to safety! Clear the area!" The others did not have to be asked twice and soon the crowd had turned around, panic spreading as they all fled.

"No." Asuna's commands were interrupted as Asuna heard Tsukuyomi's voice again, looking back towards the dust cloud, she was just in time to see two things. The first was Tsukuyomi only a meter away from her, the girl's swords out and both of them falling towards Asuna's neck. The second was Fate, standing between them with a dozen large obsidian blades formed around him and all of them slicing at Tsukuyomi.

It wasn't really dignified of her, but Asuna let out a cry of shock and fright as she fell down on her back when it seemed as if the air exploded right before her. The clash between the psychotic Tsukuyomi and the maimed Fate created a din of sounds that lasted for only one second, then it was over. Looking up again from her now prone position, Asuna saw that Fate had forced Tsukuyomi back, the dozen obsidian swords having been sliced to shreds however. Tsukuyomi twirled her blades around, her full attention having been turned to Fate now.

"The Shinmeiryuu arts can slice through the strongest steel." she jeered at him, "You don't think you'll be at bit of a disadvantage with that stone magic of yours?" Fate, however, only kept advancing on her.

"Do not make the assumption stone-magic is all I wield." He said, making the ground around him seemingly explode, the solid stone floor detonated, turning into fine sand that shot into the sky and turned straight towards Tsukuyomi. The girl leaped to the side, danced, weaved and leaped through the web of sand attacks he formed. Obscene, wild laughter came from her as she avoided his attacks with the merest margins.

"Ahahahahaaa!" she screeched with laughter, "You're right, cutting sand doesn't do much! And you do it so well too! Is it really that easy to kill me, really that easy to kill the only person who ever cared about you?"

"Firstly you are not that person," Fate leaped at her now, sending another swarm of obsidian blades at her. "Secondly: emotions are the domain of humans as I told you. I am no such thing."

"No emotions huh?" The girl jeered at him as she sliced his blades apart. "You really are comfortable with that lie, no?" a giggle followed her now as she came at him again.

"Spare me your ravings," Fate said as he made the ground explode, giant stone spikes shooting out of the ground where Tsukuyomi stood. "I am sane, you are a mere madwoman." With this, he leaped into the air and went for Tsukuyomi, who had been forced to leap into the sky to avoid the spikes. Yet another dozen blades had formed around him now and he unleashed them without any hesitation, this time they actually reached her too, slicing into her body several times over. Yet, said body exploded, a small scrap of paper.

"Keep deluding yourself." Tsukuyomi hissed from behind Fate, her blade already falling against his neck, only centimeters left to it and his death. "I know you too well to fall for that!" Blade bit into flesh, blood stained the ground and the two combatants came to a standstill Tsukuyomi's blade completed that arc and came to a halt, nothing now being where it had come for Fate's head.

Yet, it was not Fate's blood running down on the stone floor. Fate had dodged, his sole remaining arm creating one more stone blade and stabbing it backwards, perfectly impaling Tsukuyomi upon it. Eye wide in shock, Tsukuyomi let go of her swords after a pair of silent seconds. Her hands turned limp as the swords clattered against the ground. Soon she followed as well, falling to her knees as she slid off the blade. Fate, meanwhile, rose to his full height with his hand still on the blade. Looking down on the girl, he raised the sword again.

"I was Madness, your psychosis is as easy for me to read as an open book." He told her, "It's over." Through bloodstained teeth Tsukuyomi grinned at him, the mad delight having in no way abated in her eyes.

"It's never over." she giggled weakly, "Not for you, not for me. It's never over! Never ever!" She shrieked at the end now, howling at him with a voice that seemed overcome with joy and eagerness. Fate was not moved however.

"Thank you." He said to Tsukuyomi, "I'm sorry. Rest in peace." With that, he severed Tsukuyomi's head from her shoulders, her insane laughter being brought to an instant end as the head flew through the air, rolling across the ground and coming to a stop first several meters away. The insane grin was still locked on the face as it came to a halt.

Fate, meanwhile, watched the headless body hitting the ground, unsummoning the sword and silently watching the corpse of Tsukuyomi. Silence reigned, the dust cleared and the sounds had vanished, leaving only emptiness in it's wake. Asuna, who had not fled yet, stared at the scene with a queasy feeling in her stomach. Tsukuyomi had gone all out, she really had wanted to kill Fate. And Fate had responded, without hesitation he had met her, aiming to kill her and doing it as well...

It was not with a little hesitation that she slowly approached Fate. She had learned enough in life this far to realize that he had been forced to do it. Yet, the total coldness with which he had done it...  
"Fate..." She begun only to be interrupted when Fate spoke up.

"I know where this spell failed now." he said, his voice betraying nothing. No emotions, no distress. It seemed even more empty than usual "There were two options in casting this spell, I guessed on the first option. It was the second however, all the spell did was make her mental degeneration utter and complete." Asuna swallowed, feeling horrified at the thought. Oh Sol... he had pretty much killed Tsukuyomi's soul as he tried to save her, being forced to kill her body as well... Oh Sol...

"Fate-san..." she begun again, trying to rack her mind for something to say, something, anything.

"Kindly do not address me your highness." Fate said, sounding more thoughtful than anything else. "I was just forced to kill someone I hoped to save. I am aware that the parallels to Negi Springfield are evident but never the less, please do not speak to me at the moment." Asuna flinched, getting somewhat sick to her stomach. She stepped back, deciding that there was nothing she could do. So she left, leaving Fate standing in front of the body of Tsukuyomi, the girl he'd sworn to save and now murdered.

None of them saw the figure standing on the next floor of the ziggurat and looked down at them. It was Konoka, the girl looking down at the scene with tears in her distant eyes. She had seen it. She had known what would have happened, known that Fate would choose wrong. Yet she had found her hands tired. In the merciless weave of fate she had not found one path to Tsukuyomi's salvation that would not lead to even greater suffering down the line. Her grandfather's words still echoed with her, warning her of direct interference. Therefore she had let Tsukuyomi die, letting one of the people who were still almost like one with her succumb to the insanity forever.

Sinking down on her knees, Konoka found herself shivering. Down by Tsukuyomi's body Fate stood still and silent but Konoka cried, cried for the pain she had caused Fate and the life she had robbed Tsukuyomi of. The curse of precognition was evident for her now, evident enough to make her cry like a small child.  
Why was she here? What good had she done in these last months? She had hoped that her powers could aid Asuna but they hadn't, not more than a little. She found herself standing still, watching as the pain she hoped to save those she cared from only grew.

"I'm sorry..." she whimpered, sobbing as she with a hoarse whisper begged Fate to forgive her. "I'm so sorry Fate-kun..." Why was she still so useless? Why could she still not do anything? Shame filled her and she found herself unable to even look at Fate, feeling like she had betrayed him.

* * *

Setsuna gritted her teeth, stopping herself just as she rounded the corner. Clenching her fist, she slammed it into the wall and came to a complete still. What was she doing! She had almost without thinking headed towards Asuna's, the princess', villa on the forth floor of the ziggurat. Gritting her teeth, she spun around and started walking away. She wasn't going there to see Asuna, she knew that well. That was over! She had already decided that! Yet, after only a few steps she came to a stop again.  
God damn it, why was she still so weak? Frustration welled up in her along with her shame. Leaning against the wall, she covered her face with her hands. A strange sound came from her, a mixed groan, hiss and growl. It voiced her frustrations and her anger with herself decently. What was she meant to do to gain some modicum of peace? What was she expecting to find? Kotaro transforming into human and taking her in his arms?

He wouldn't even remember her! He was an animal now and by all accounts he seemed happy with Asuna. She took good care of him, was honest with her care for him. Everyone around her had accepted it, Kotaro was an animal now! But she? She was still walking back and forth here, having to stop herself from seeking him out for something he neither could give her or she deserved!

Setsuna was brought out of her frustration-induced trance when something sniffed at her. She nearly jumped out of her skin as the cold, wet thing hit her back and she caused her harasser to leap backwards. Stumbling to the right, Setsuna got her hand on her sword and looked in the direction of whoever it was with her heart pounding in her ears. The heart kept up its gymnastics, skipping a beat only to freeze after that. A few meters from her, ears folded back and posture wary, Kotaro stood with his giant eyes looking at her.

Setsuna felt fear hit her like a battering ram, not knowing what to do. Kotaro! It was him! But no! She had promised herself to not go here! This wasn't the Kotaro she was looking for, she had ended him by her actions! She should just leave, now! But she couldn't do that. She ended up just staring at him, uncertain of what to do.

Meanwhile, the beast that had been Kotaro looked at the strange person that was currently radiating stress and anxiety. The animal mind of Kotaro couldn't understand or name the emotions Setsuna radiated, they were too alien. Yet, the smell that came from her was one he remembered and therefore he stepped closer to her again, starting to sniff at her in an attempt to place it. This time she didn't jump back, giving him the ability to try to remember without interruptions.

It was a hard task for him, his animal mind still held the impressions of an intelligent mind but was unable to really interpret them. For humans and other intelligent beings life was complex, emotions faceted and ambivalent. For animals, things are so much clearer, so much direct and instant. Therefore Kotaro, after having finished sniffing, shook his head. The sensation was familiar, so very familiar, but he couldn't name what it meant to him. It became confusing and the beast stepped back, continuing to shake his head. What did it mean?

He still couldn't find an answer, becoming more and more distressed. His head swayed this way and that, his tremors becoming more and more fierce. In the end it was too much and the animal lost its footing, falling to the ground with a loud thud. Kotaro was just about to get up again when he felt something on his side. A small hand touched him, the touch being almost like a jolt of electricity. Looking to the side, he saw that the girl had come up to him, her eyes wide in worry as she had reached out for him. Then it clicked, he knew what he felt now. Giving up a happy sound, he stood up and immediately begun to lick the girl's face. He understood the sensation now, affection. He liked this girl, saw her as what his animal mind could at best describe as a pack-mate. There could have been more but the lack of scents he identified with a mate made it impossible for him to think of that. Happily, he kept licking her as a sign of his affection.

Setsuna, meanwhile, found herself overwhelmed by Kotaro's happy greeting of her. Of all the things she had expected this hadn't been it. The cheerful, affectionate actions of the animal hit her harder than a spear through the chest and soon her eyes misted up. In the face of this simple, genuine friendliness she started to cry, grabbing hold of Kotaro's large neck and crying. She let the tears flow freely, crying as all the pain she felt was given form, crying for her loss and her shame.

* * *

Pushing the door open to the meeting room, Fate walked inside with swift steps. He surveyed the room, seeing the princess, the generals Kurt and Akira, the royal paladin Kazuro and Takamichi. Several of them had looked up at him as he entered, the royal paladin already moving.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice sharp as he blocked Fate's path. Fate only met his gaze with a dry one of his own.

"Ask your liege." he said dryly, "I gave my allegiance months ago." Kazuro looked back at Asuna with an uncertain look in his eyes. Asuna, meanwhile, stared at him in shock.

"F...Fate?" she asked, staring him. It was as if she didn't believe her eyes at what she saw.

"I did tell you that I realized where I went wrong with the spell your highness," he said, "With that mistake corrected, it works perfectly as you can see." He did understand why she was staring at him. At the moment he was no longer wearing the robe and steel mask he had been using for months now. He didn't need it any more. His skin was whole again, his body no longer rotting. He was back in the light blue clothes he preferred and his silver hair was back to s normal length. All in all, the Fate she saw she had only seen once before, back in Kyoto. "As you can see I am ready to serve once again ." he said with a small bow. Asuna didn't look convinced however. She looked at him for a moment before looking around.

"Can you get outside for a minute?" she asked the others, who all instantly obeyed. Soon the room was empty, only Asuna and Fate remaining. Asuna looked at him as she walked around the table and came up to him. Fate did not expect what happened now, the princess hugged him. She wrapped her arms around him and held him gently .

"Don't force yourself." she whispered to him. Her voice was gentle, understanding. "I don't need you for at least a few more weeks. Don't throw yourself into work first thing you do. Not after this." Fate closed his eyes, realizing what she meant. A pity she didn't understand. He pushed her back somewhat, keeping her on arm's length.

"You misunderstand." he told her. "Do you believe I grieve over what happened?" he continued. "I do not. As I told Tsukuyom; emotions not something I possess."

"Bullshit Fate." Asuna said, "Emotions is part of what makes us human. You never get away from them no matter how much you bottle them up! I know that."

"Yes." Fate admitted. "Part of being human. I am not human." Asuna blinked at this, not having heard this before. "Your magister did not tell you of this?" Fate asked. "I am a doll, created and given life by a tainted wizard in Istanbul. Emotions is something I have never experienced, other than in short, irregular bursts. What more, for the sake of safety I should not possess it."

"Fate, for Sol's sake." Asuna begun, "Don't do this to yourself. So what is emotions are difficult to you? Don't deny yourself..." Fate shut her up by raising his hand now.

"I deny myself what I see fit your highness." he told her. "I am not human, I am a doll. I need not emotions, but a master, a cause to serve. Give me it and use me as you see fit your highness. I am not your servant, I am your possession."

"Stop that!" Asuna commanded him. "Don't you dare call yourself that! I'm not going to let you keep doing this to yourself!"

"Or else?" Fate asked calmly, looking at her with his steady gaze. "Are you saying I should subject my beliefs and my identity to your will and twist them to your bidding?" Asuna tensed after he said this, seemingly as if she had been slapped in the face. "You are walking headlong into defeat." Fate continued. "Your naivete will be your undoing. You seem to be under the influence that everyone is equal, that everyone should have the same rights and demands levied upon themselves. That, is not the case. You are a girl, was born such, and can never truly be a man. I was created with the express purpose of being a servant, it is in my blood, my soul, to be such a thing. Why can I not be this then? Why must I be subject to your views of how humans, which I am not, should be? Accept me as I am or do away with me, there are no other options for you in this matter." Fate looked down on Asuna, his eyes cold, before he turned around and left. "I will be in the library until you need me." Fate said as he left. "When you have decided whether to attempt to twist me to fit your desires or accept me for what I am then call me to you." With that, he slammed the door shut and Asuna looked after him. Clenching her teeth, she came to sink down in the chair at the end of the table again and covered her face

By sol why did she feel like things were falling apart? She had to admit to herself she seriously hadn't considered that the ritual would fail. Fate has seemed so confident, so assertive. But he had failed, And now? Now he blindly refused to even be human any more. Doubts beset her once again. Had it been her fault? If he perhaps had waited, would he have done it the other way and saved her?

Damn it all to hell... was it her fault all of this? Kotaro's state of being was due to her, or rather Negi wanting her to be safe so much that he had done that to him. Was the others' conditions also due to it? Damn it all... damn it all to hell, everything... especially Negi's meddling. She felt it like she was sitting in a spider's web, Negi at the center with countless webs going out from him and everyone around him entangled in it forever.

Forever... months after Negi's death and he still was affecting them all... would they ever be free?

* * *

A/N: this is probably THE most depressing chapter I've ever written :( Yet, for me this was the calls I felt I needed to make. This story, as it is, I feel cannot lend itself to happy joy joy scenarios. People make mistakes, sometimes they are irreversible. So cry, my readers, feel horrible that it all went so wrong, that so much was lost and broken. Tragedies are good for the soul I personally believe, they cleanse you, it might be painful, yes, but we all the more come to appreciate what we have for it.

So yeah, do you agree with me? Am I just a nutcase? Let me know in the reviews and I'll see you next month.


	19. Three years later

Chapter 19: Three years later

* * *

In the massive circular room, with a domed roof over fifty meters above the floor, banners hanging along the walls and with an amphitheater with rows that had desks and benches along them and a podium in the middle, the debate raged. The room, with seats for hundreds of people, was filled to the level that not one seat was free and without exception the people in the room were immaculately dressed, be it in long, flowing robes or expensive designer suits and in the light that filled the room without any apparent source it was easy to see that many of them were angry. The mood filling the room was outright electrical, owing in no small part to the man standing in the middle of the room.

The man standing in the middle of said room was, had always been and would always be a figure who caused emotions to fly high. Former supreme admiral of the Megalomesembric navy, now senator in the legislative council, the "senate", senator Jean-Luc Ricardo. The large, bombastic man with his starfish-shaped haircut and imposing presence, was currently standing at the podium and his voice filled the room.

"Honoured senators!" he exclaimed, "This has gone on for far too long! Three years! Three years of pointless bloodbaths! Of untold misery and suffering! Of devastating costs, in lives in our standing amongst nations, in money! How long must we go on before we realize the futility of this war?" an angry mumble came from several of the senators and Ricardo only snarled. "Yes! War! Stick your heads in the sand if that is what you want but the facts are evident! The royal house of Entheofushia is intact! The royal forces of Vespertatia does keep fighting! The Pyrith mountains aren't and will not be conquered! We are not undertaking a "police action" against a group of separatists or terrorists! We are currently at war against sovereign nation!" he put emphasis on the word "war", making the room inside the air quiver.

"According to who?" an elderly, white-haired mage with peering eyes and a long beard asked. "We have precisely one piece of evidence in this matter, one presented by the terrorist figurehead herself." most of the people in the room murmured in the agreement at this.

"Unless he has turned senile," a regal, proud woman in her fifties with a hawkish look on her face said dryly, "Senator Ambrosius knows just as well as I do that this is due to the eighty-first division, a branch of the government subordinate to the senate, refusing us access to any and all documentation about both project Spellshatterer and their alleged operations in the enclaves of mundus vetes."

"Which is their full right!" the old senator snarled.

"Ah, yes." the woman snorted, "The right you gave them in order to be able to wash your hands of whatever those psychopaths do."

"Senators!" Ricardo continued on the podium. "The numbers speak for themselves. Three hundred billion drachma in debts! Nearly thirty thousand Megalomesembric soldiers dead! Total casualties nearing a million, most of them civilians who are far too often mowed down by our forces! The high standing amongst nation we earned in the Schismatic war tarnished beyond rescue and a full twenty percent of our fighting force locked in a war that every day leaves more of our men scarred for life, maimed or dead! How long will we keep this war going under the false pretext of stabilizing a nation whose ruler is still alive, whose forces are intact and able to fight us to this extent, whose entire people hates us?"

"We will fight as long as needed!" another senator yelled. "Megalomesembria, the foremost power of the world, does not negotiate with terrorists!"

"I seem to have missed the bill that made resisting unlawful occupation of your nation terrorism." another senator muttered and got a murmuring agreement, albeit one much smaller.

"Senators!" Ricardo yelled again, "I demand that we take action in this matter! The eighty-first must be held accountable for their actions and the eventual truth in the claims made against them must be brought to light, not only from the Vespertatian monarch but also the mountain of accusations piling up in internal affairs' archives! We must establish a cease fire and begin to negotiate a truce with the state of Vespertatia! We must relieve the executor in chief from his role as overseer of the new provinces. We must adopt a policy that can win the hearts and minds of the Vespertatian people! History will judge us! Shall it judge us as ruthless imperialists shying no means to create their own empire with them as the ruling caste or as the proud republic that was first in line against Cosmo Enthelecheia, who stood as first amongst equals amongst the nations of the world when we saved it from annihilation! What will it be?" he finished, earning a fierce applause from several senators, albeit a minority of the gathered people. Ricardo left the podium and returned to his seat. The senator in the seat beside him, a young, clean-cut man in a white robe that matched the color of his hair, gave him a thumbs up as he sat down.

"Well done senator." he whispered as the next speaker went up to the podium. "I'd like to see how they fire back at that." Ricardo gave him a wry smile, his eyes as intense as they had been at stage as he leaned back and folded his arms. The speaker that ascended the stage now was a worn, tired-looking man in an expensive suit. He had white hair, droopy eyes and a short beard.

"The good senator speaks passionately about the suffering of this nation." the man begun, Ricardo getting something dark in his eyes. "Yet, ironically for a man we once entrusted with the pride of our skyfleet, he seems to have forgotten what war entails." Ricardo clenched his fists now, the pen he was holding shattering. "In the soils of this foreign nation we have lost thousands of young men and women," the man continued softly, "Brave, honorable soldiers who we all can be proud of and whose loss we mourn. Yet now we are to spit on their sacrifice? Shall we forget about all these sacrifices and negotiate with terrorist, suicide bombers and fanatics who serve the behest of whatever puppet master controls this pretender princess." this was one of the most inflammatory tricks of his faction, dismissing the princess' authenticity out of hand without even discussing it. It caused a stir amongst many of the senators to grit their teeth in anger. "We all know how senator McGill fell victim to Cosmo Enthelecheia's servants and how the false senator caused us to start down a path that would have undone us all."

"That's funny!" someone yelled, "I remember you backing him consequently to continue the war until he was revealed!" The senator at the podium didn't even look at the speaker however.

"Who is pulling the strings this time? It is self-evident that this princess cannot be anything but a fake. As the saying goes: fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice..." he let the whole thing hang in the air, earning approvals from many of the present senators. Ricardo looked at the man, seemingly so tired and weak, with anger and disgust felt towards him, towards one of the progressive party's most lethal rhetoricians. Playing on the fears of the others, inventing "obvious" similarities where there were none, spewing that blasted "honor the dead" spiel. Fates how he hated that last one. That man hadn't been out in the war, he hadn't seen how those who died didn't give a damn about revenge or their sacrifice being honored. They only felt despair in the face of never seeing their loved ones again, of having let their comrades in arms down, of dying. It was sickening! How could the loss of even more good people possibly make up for the losses in the first place!

"What is at stake here is our nation." the senator continued, "and though we grieve for the loss of those who die in this war, the stakes are even higher. Pulling back out of Vespertatia would send an unequivocal message to the world. That we are weak, that they can come here and do whatever their want. Those countless fanatics and terrorists out there who hates this nation, who despises everything we stand for, will come to Megalomesembria, believing that we are too weak to stop them. The things at stake here is the proud iron facade which is our best hope in a world where the values we hold are contested at every turn. Thank you." With that, he left the stage, rumbling applause following him as all too many of the senatorsswallowed what he said hook line and sinker. The senate chairman stood up and took over the podium now.

"The senate will adjourn itself for today." he said now, "The debates will continue at six-hundred hours tomorrow." Ricardo let out an explosive sigh now, clenching his fists. Another day, another god, damn wasted day. He left the chair without a word, striding out of the room with anger burning inside him. Leaving the room, he pushed his way into the hallway and towards his office with his shoes clapping against the polished floor. He missed his skyfleet boots, they gave a much better sound.

Looking out of the window, he saw the crowd of journalists pushing and pulling outside the entrance to the senatorial building. Vultures... the only people happy in this situation were they, they had vast fortunes of things to run newsreels on and fought like rabid animals over the juiciest bits. Bah! Thankfully he reached the elevator to the garage and got down to his shuttle in only a minute. He didn't want to remain here an instant longer than necessary and he still would have to dig through his office for an hour at least before he could go home, take a drink and a shower, go to bed and do this whole thing all over again tomorrow.

He kept to the high lanes while going through the city but even up here, over the roar of the wind, he could hear the chaos down below. A swarm of black watchmen swished past him on their lances, heading out to whatever part of the city needed them. Fates knew they were needed these days.

He arrived at his office in one of the higher downtown districts without any intermezzos and hurried inside, the rioting hadn't targeted this part of the city yet, probably due to the lack of high-profile government offices here. Most of the stuff here was offices belonging to this or that company, a perfect setting for him to hide in.

The light in his office was on, leading him to the conclusion that his secretary was working overtime again. Damn that guy, he was killing himself. Ricardo sighed as he got up the three flights of stairs and pushed the door to his office open. The office had two rooms, one smaller room at the front where his secretary sat and the large room further in where he worked. The office was refreshingly stark, simple and only barely decorated to make room for more bookshelves.

"Good evening sir." his secretary said as he worked at something at the computer that stood on the desk by the door. He looked up from the screen to watch Ricardo, the speed with which he worked not stopping, only dropping to roughly half the speed. "How did the meeting go?"

"Same accursed shit as always." Ricardo sighed. "You shouldn't be here Gerald. Go home and be with your family. In times like these you need each other.

"As you need me sir." Gerald answered. "I took the liberty of pouring a balwar for you. It's on your desk."

"Heh..." Ricardo was too exhausted to protest. "You're gonna end up making me keep you forever you know."

"I'll have to manage then." Gerald said. "The mail is on the table as well." Ricardo nodded and walked inside. The few decorations that could be seen inside the equally stark room included his shield with the medals he had won in the war, a picture of his officer's class and a model of the Svahnvit, the ship he had commanded for eight years. He liked to reminiscence on the simpler times. Yet at the time there was no time for that. Ricardo found himself watching the pile of mail on his desk with a sense of despair. He had to be moral, hadn't he? He was one of the few senators it seemed that adamantly refused to let the secretary deal with his mail. It wasn't that he trusted Gerald, the opposite, but it was his mail. People wrote to him because they wanted to tell senator Ricardo something, not his secretary.

He sighed and stared opening the letter one after one, making sure to have taken a steady swig of the glass of balwar first. He'd need it. It was the usual pick and mix, some children asking him to let "daddy" or "mommy" come home soon. Some school class that had written to him, wanting to tell him about their dreams and what they had learned about him. It was cute really. Less cute was the letters where all he could see was one giant penis floating around. Some dipshit had gotten the idea that it would be funny to send letters to politicians where they had recorded their dicks and nothing more. A pair of hate mails were also thrown in there along with a whole schload of suck-ups, know-it-alls and other kinds of fun people having opinions about this and that.

He worked quickly but it still took two hours to go through it all and when he was done the glass was long empty. The last piece of the mail wasn't a letter however. It was today's issue of The Oracle, one of Megalomesembrias largest newspapers. It was a thick one too and the front page filled him with satisfaction.

_THE WAR OF LIES?" _the front page said,_ "the senate's untruths about the WAR IN VESPERTATIA (pages 4-16 and supplement)._ Along with the text was the picture of a dead person lying in a pile of rubble. The Oracle had, out of nowhere, gone from keeping the war reporting to a minimum to fire off a broadside like this. He shouldn't be happy about this, an aggressive issue like this would only inflame the already troubled situation in the nation. Putting it down, he instead turned on the desk-screen and started flipping between the TV-channels.

"_Tensions remain high throughout the capitol as the rioting only intensifies." _the first news anchor, a young silver-blonde girl in a professional suit said as the camera showed footage of a large mob of people throwing things at a line of black watchmen which was steadily advancing. _"The Watch is working to re-establish order but the results thus far has been limited." _He zapped. Of course they rioted, the war casualties were mounting and nothing seemed to be achieved no matter what they did. With a senate that seemed to view them as nothing but resources of course tempers ran high.

"_...and will remain as such until we recognize Vespertatia's sovereignty." _A bald, aged man with thick glasses and a purple robe said from his position in the sofa next to the talkshow host._ "There has been a consistent policy of denying them all legitimacy, branding them terrorists and using similar rhetorical methods to undermine the apparent trustworthiness of anyone who..." _He zapped again. He didn't need to hear again about how he was seen as just the same as the people he spent every waking hour fighting.

"_... took a turn for the worse when seventy-three year old mrs Eleanor Morris,"_ the screen showed the picture of a large rally and currently a red circle was drawn around an old woman with a headscarf who held a placard reading _"give me back my grandchildren". "was hit with a powerful stunning spell. The rally turned into a riot in instants and before the watch could restore order seventeen people had been injured, five of them critically, mrs Morris amongst them. Thankfully nobody was..." _Ricardo zapped one more time, this time he turned the screen off. There it was, the reason discontent had exploded into rioting. Too many in the senate had more and more lost connection with the people the represented. To them it wasn't an attack upon the people you had been chosen to serve, it was the correction of unruly cattle or even traitors to the state.

Ricardo sighed, feeling the craving for another drink. When did this happen? When did "Megalomesembria" itself become an entity that needed to spread like this, is a cancer, across the world. This ideal had spread more and more lately, justifying whatever sacrifices and whatever suffering as long as "Megalomesembria" could thrive. The people suffered, the economy was shot to hell, the trust between politician and civilian was at an all time low, yet somehow "Megalomesembria" could stand strong through all of this. When did his nation start to become a parasite upon his people?

He honestly couldn't tell. Perhaps it had been there since before he was born and only exploded after his country was launched into the position as the one and only superpower on the world. Now, however, they were deadlocked in a war against Vespertatia, supposedly led by the one survivor of their royal house. Ricardo didn't know what to think of the claims that the princess had made, claims of being kidnapped and experimented upon by the eighty-first division. It was all over magi-net these days and even if most people dismissed it countless conspiracy theorists latched on to it and the fact that the progressives had stubbornly refused to allow any neutral committees to investigate the matter only made it seem more plausible to more reasonable people. Swiveling in his chair, he came face to face with the window and stared out into the night. The lights of the city could be seen all over the place, yet not just signs and lanterns illuminated the night now, but fire as well.

* * *

Fire. She was all too used to fire nowadays. As Asuna sat in the center of the command bridge of the first cruiser the Vespertatian skyfleet had possessed in over a decade, she thought about how fire was such a common sight to her now. The ship, Infragilis, was currently flying over a burning forest. The flames and smoke rising from the burning houses seemed to be all she saw. The flames of war, of magic, of campfires and so on. Around her people were sitting, over two dozen all in all, by consoles and screens and worked together to make the ship fly. They were all wearing the white uniforms of the skyfleet barring the black-clothed captain, who stood at the far end of the bridge, talking with one of the crewmen. Dull thuds could be heard as enemy fire hit the ship from below but the resilient armor of the ship could take it.

The ship came to a halt now, hovering in mid-air as Asuna heard the low hum of the ship's gravitational lift begin. The Infragilis was carrying an entire battalion of soldiers in it's holds, the very maximum possible, and currently it spewed them out of the hold and down to the ground. The Infragilis had run back and forth for weeks, reinforcing the resistance forces wherever they needed, and right now they were in the southwest parts of Vespertatia where the resistance had actually managed to go on the offensive, pushing the Megalomesembrians back, and now they were reinforcing the forces who had encircled a megalomesembric company and now worked on grinding them to dust.

Asuna wished she could be happy about the situation but the massive grinding hell the war had become could only more and more seemingly hollow her out. Three years had gone since they began the war and Vespertatia was aflame, all of the nation was metaphorically like the forest below then was literally, ravaged by fighting, burning and dying.

Normally Asuna wouldn't be aboard this ship. She was too important to be risked on the front lines, Kurt and Takeda had both been adamant on that point. Yet, as it was she needed to be. Below her, in that hell of fighting, bleeding, dying, her chosen paladin was. Kazuro and her royal guard had been reinforcing this offensive, their gleaming blades having been the spearhead during this push. Yet, after a month in that hell it was time for them to be relieved. The ship was currently spewing out those who were to replace them and the last of the forces remaining from the first push. In their place came one of the newly formed elite battalions, veterans of at least three years of warfare. They would keep the pot boiling and throw back any attempts at relieving them. In the meantime, Asuna could get back her paladin and his appraisal of the situation.

Looking down on the screens in front of her, she saw the situation marked out on a 3-D display of the battlefield. The Magalomesembrians had fortified themselves around and old academy building and the Vespertatians had made an iron ring around the place and constantly bombarded it, gave them no rest and no pity. Keeping the cauldron boiling, they would soon have softened the Megalomesembrians up to crush them totally. Via this screen it almost looked like a video game of some kind.

It was too familiar to her. Slowly having worked up the same kind of knowledge as Takeda and Kurt, albeit not near their level, she found herself more and more moving small figures across a map. She almost forgot they were people. Those small dots more and more turned into only pieces in a game.

"Your highness." Kazuro's voice brought her out of her reverie and she looked at the paladin who just had entered the bridge. He was dirty and sweaty, his gleaming armor covered in dirt and blood and his head having a bandage wrapped around it, covering one eye. Kazuro had changed in these last years. Non-stop fighting had made him lose that softness he had shown initially. He more and more stopped being a house-cat between battles and more and more never stopped being a man-eating tiger.

"How's it down there?" Asuna asked, thinking to herself about how calm she sounded. Her paladin gave her the thumbs up.

"We're doing well your highness." he told him. "The men are battered but able still. They've adapted flawlessly to the new equipment and the Megalomesembrians are reeling under them. With some luck..."

"Don't..." Asuna said, she had come to hate the word "luck." Things always seemed to go awry when it was used. Even now, after three years of steadily increased activities, when they had managed to expand their mining operations, when they could afford to buy weapons, armor and even ships enough that now the Vespertatian army was – even if still light - well equipped and mobile, when their forces had become seasoned veterans, she still despised that word.

The Infragilis lifted from the city, firing a series of complementary energy blasts at the entrenched Megalomesembrians before flying at high speed towards the west, back to the mountains.

* * *

Maxwell sat silently in his chair, watching the latest report from the south. The office he had worked tirelessly from for 3 years was three times as spacious as his old one. He especially enjoyed the dimming lights, something the Vespertatian king had apparently installed back when this had been his workroom. Still, all the dimmers and comfortable chairs in the world couldn't help his oncoming migraine.

Three years had passed, three years during which he had experienced firsthand the massive surge of fanatic fervor the princess had given her people. They had constantly pressured the peacekeeping forces, casualties now numbering in the thousands. Yet, the forces of Megalomesembria had held. They had been battered, bruised and strained to he very edge, yet they had held. Battles might be lost, but the war was not lost.

Not yet at least... by his rough estimates they could only hold like this for a few more months. Throwing the reports on the table he stood up, rubbing his temples again. He had been too passive people said, allowed them to keep too much of their equipment intact, allowed them to mobilize what more and more became a mechanized army.

What did they know? The basis of all warfare was deception. The eighty-first fought to win, no matter what. Thousands of deaths? Monetary debts? Unpatriotic scumbags complaining? What was that compared to victory? They could call him a villain but a hundred years from now, when his nation stood strong, they'd understand. History vindicated the winners and as far as Megalomesembria had gone victory was all that mattered.

Walking over to the window, he looked out across the city, smiling to himself. Ostia stood still strong, the city having blossomed. The settlers of Megalomesembria had been at peace here. By any means necessary he had preserved the peace here at least and the Vespertatians here had been curtailed through fastidious and unflinching control of the city, the least attempts at terrorism were discovered well before they could take place and the executions made a good example of what the terrorists had to expect.

Ostia first, then the nation. Yet, for the nation to yield he needed a trump card, something that could make them put down their weapons. Walking back to his desk, he looked through the correspondence with high command. They had been deliberating the next move suggested by him for weeks now, going through the highest security measures to make sure the idea wasn't compromised. If they'd accept it the war was won. He just needed them to drop the last bits of martial naivete, war was and had always been won through the destruction of your enemies, sadly there were forces at home who didn't see this. In a state where even the civilians actively fought you there were people who insisted that they'd be treated as anything other than the terrorist scum they were.

A knock on the door made him look up and he pushed a button on the desk to make the door open. A messenger came in and saluted him before handing over a letter to him. Maxwell took it without showing any emotions outwardly. Inside he was cheering however, the letter was from high command. Dismissing the messenger, he opened the letter and looked down at it. It was a written note, with only three sentences on it. Maxwell's smile only grew as he read them.

You were right.  
The birds back home are starting to go south.  
I guess I owe you twelve drachma.

Maxwell nearly yelled out in triumph right there and now. This was it! Walking over to the window again, he grinned to himself as he watched the Megalomesembric flag swaying outside. Soon that flag would proudly sway even in the deepest parts of the Pyriths.

* * *

Othila had these days become more than just a city. The once somewhat peaceful hidden city was now a bustling military base. Several large towers rose outside the city, large platforms on top providing docking spaces for the large ships hovering in the air around them. Large training fields had been erected as well and they were all filled with men and women raining in different ways all the skills this war would demand from them. The mists around the city now effectively was the border for it, there was no space left inside the mountain enclave due to the dozens of different additions which had been done to the city.

In the middle of this chaotic hustle and bustle the Infragilis was docking at one of the higher masts, the large, dully gray ship giving up a long, keening tune as it did so. To many it would have been a frightening sound, to the people of this city it meant that her highness was home again. As the princess walked down the gangplank from the ship to the pier she was met by several members from her administrative staff, all of them carrying different papers with issues they needed her attention for.

"Your highness." One of them said, bowing, before he fell in line right behind her as the princess walked towards the elevator down from the tower. "We have received the bills from Hartmann Constructions. There are some irregularities with paperwork however, the prince tag comes in at almost thirty percent above the agreed. They cite shipping problems as the reason." Hartman Constructions was one of the greatest shipyard companies in the magic world. Officially they only made luxury liners and cargo ships but in a secret facility deep in the Hellas mountains they had one of the largest independent shipyards in the world, producing top-notch military ships for whomever on the black market that needed them. It was they who had produced the new ships of the Vespertatian fleet, while they had never constructed anything larger than destroyers before the ships they had constructed this far had been amazing, top modern military assets. That didn't mean she'd let him mess with her however.

"Pay them what we agreed on and sneak a toy explosive into the CEO's bedroom," Asuna said "Add a note asking him to quit horsing around and that we're not in the mood for it. If he keeps messing around sneak in a real, unarmed one. Oh, and find out what school his kids go to, let one of our agent companies give them a generous offer of sponsorship if they hold a Hellas/Vespertatia cultural exchange day. Just so he gets the message."

"Some of the officer cadets have petitioned for an accelerated training program." Another man said now. "They claim that they are needed out in the field and have suggested a series of cuts in the training program that will put them in the field a month earlier than usual." Asuna took the paper fro the man, read through it and rolled her eyes. The training program Admiral Takeda had set up was one of their greater assets, it allowed for the resistance commanders to gain a much greater level of tactical competence. Training, not talent, was what led her forces to victory.

"Remind them that the only reason we've gotten this far is because our commanders and soldiers both are competent, their ideas would only let them get out so they could mess things up faster. Denied." Asuna said as she got into the elevator, her posse of desk-jockeys following her. The large elevator, circular and with white walls and floor, was filled with people. "Anything else?" she asked and several more people came forth with papers. There was the usual pick and mix of important issues, strange things she couldn't see why they had any importance and utter trivialities. She thanked Sol Kurt had worked out a system that freed her from as much of this nonsense as possible. Yet, she still had enough that she had things to do all the way from the bottom of the elevator, inside the transport that took her to the ziggurat and all the way into the palace.

She had just shaken off the last of the men following her like ducklings when she got into her residence. After the incident with the scroll and the poison gas she had eventually gotten a new, larger residence. This one was it's own building and large enough to house an entire company, opulently designed and gleaming white with spires, arches and marble everywhere. Asuna had discovered that the initial plans had included gold filigree everywhere. After almost beating the snot out of the architect she had without further ado poured the gold into the war effort.

Inside the house the place was even more opulent. Two arching stairs led up to the second level where she had her actual "home". The ground floor, with large, open rooms, was more of a public area where she held meetings and the likes. The upper floor had over two dozen rooms, the lower had only five. Asuna didn't know what to do with spaces that big so they became semi-public areas. Kotaro came up to her the first thing that happened, he had made one of the side rooms his den. The smell was combated with magic and it also gave her a quite effective doorguard. Asuna smiled and scratched him behind the ears before turning to face the other people present here.

Admiral Takeda, along with Kurt and Takamichi, were all seated in the chairs around the table that stood inside the room directly opposite Kotaro's den. Asuna came up to them, sitting down in the larger chair by the table. She had barely landed on the seat before she begun. These days she was going at top speed all the time it seemed.

"According to Kazuro things are going perfectly so what do we have?" she asked Takeda. The last weeks had been utter hell even when compared to how it usually was. With this new level of warfare that had commenced it seemed as if everyone was needed everywhere and she still couldn't get just how they had managed to upgrade pretty much all their armed forces without any kind of lull in the fighting.

"A possible end to this war." Takeda said, dragging one finger along the table and summoning up a three dimensional map over Vespertatia. It was filled with green and red symbols indicating hostile and friendly forces. "our constant, increased pace and pressure against the Megalomesembrians has stretched them thin." Several green arrows went across the map, indicating the movements of Vespertatian forces. "Our decentralized warfare, the high pace and the adaptation to Megalomesembric warfare has left them fighting shadows that materialize out of nowhere and strike without warning and with a front line that seems to vanish as soon as they push at it." he continued, Asuna listening attentively to her supreme commander's words. "With the upgrade in our equipment we can now raise the speed to a completely different level and soon they will not be able to keep up." Takeda said now. Now several large green arrows shot out from the Pyriths, the red spots they hit turning green as they hit them. "It is ambitious," he admitted "but within a few months we can make an all out attack in force against them. For the first time we can win campaigns and not just battles. The strain our forces already have put on them will mean they'll have nothing to put up against us. Maybe, just maybe, we can push them out of Vespertatia completely before they can send in more forces from the homeland."

"Maybe?" Asuna asked. The prospect was like a dream to her but she hated that word. Takeda nodded.

"It will be a gamble." he said calmly, a musing look in his single eye, "We'll have to commit everything we have, not hold back one iota, and even then we won't be fully certain to win. Yet... if we pull it off the war will be over within a few months. With their forces actually thrown out of Vespertatia the Megalomesembrians won't be able to gather the support needed back home to mount a counter attack, the price would be too high."

"How do we know that?" Asuna asked, after these three years she just couldn't believe anything good about the Megalomesembrians, no matter how little. At this Kurt put a newspaper on the table and pushed it over to her.

"This is an issue of "The Oracle", Megalomesembria's largest newspaper." he said, Asuna took it and looked at the front page. "As you can see the war in controversial to say the least back in Megalomesmbria. The entire nation is seething with riots, demonstrations and anti-war manifestations. Barring the ultranationalists, the people uniformly hate this conflict and a large part of the Senate is fighting tooth and nail to stop it. If we pull this off we'll give that wing just what they need to tip the scales."

Asuna looked at the map, watching the animation replaying, how seven large arrows and several smaller launched themselves out of the mountains and destroyed everything in their path. The arrows moved at constant speed, the smaller ones faster than the larger ones yet they all still intersected and wove around each other, meaning that each enemy strongpoint was hit by at least one larger than three smaller arrow. It became almost like a large weave of movements that covered Vespertatia.. Covered it, burned through it, burned away the disease in it, curing it, freeing it.

"Do it." She eventually said. Kurt and Takeda both bowing their heads.

* * *

Slowly rubbing her temples, Asuna leaned back in the armchair inside her bedroom. Closing her eyes, she shut out the world around her. The opulent orange, red, purple and pink room she was in faded away, the bronze and brass candelabras and decorations likewise. She initially had hated the room, felt it was too gaudy. Her people decorated everything to remind of the sun, however the impression it gave to her with the warm colors and the lights everywhere made her more think of some kind of love hotel. The large, soft bed with dozens of pillows, curtains and silk sheets only added to it just like the small bowl of scented incense hanging above. That applied twice up to Kazuro's attitude, whom she had privately spoken with in here several times. Asuna had recently more and more started feeling like there was something vaguely sexual about it with his purring manners towards her. Worst part was the small stockpile of scented oils standing in one of the lockers, her servant Yuuto had consistently refused to remove them and Asuna wondered to herself what exactly people were expecting. Some time and common sense had made her realize that the royal Paladin was pretty much the minister of the royal family, what more, ministra were usually couples material. Ugh...

With a massive offensive campaign looming on the horizon it might seem strange that she sat here now thinking about things like this, but for the princess of Vespertatia this was the only relief she got. That and painting of course. She had picked up painting again a while ago and an easel now stood in one corner of the room along with painting supplies. Lately she had been working on a painting of one of the rivaren dragons, having been fascinated by the animals for a while now.

A knock could be heard from the door of the room and Asuna looked up. From where she was lying now there was almost a dozen meters of carpet-covered floor to the door and she didn't really feel like going all the way there, she was too comfortable here. She therefore raised one hand and snapped her fingers.

"Aperire." .she said, making the door open from across the room with magic. She had come to learn more and more recently. Even though she wasn't anywhere near as good to make it a viable combat tool it made day to day life that much simpler. The door swung open gently and revealed a silver angel in the doorway.

Konoka, wearing a pearly white robe, flowing and big-sleeved, with a hood pulled up over her hair, came in. She pulled back the hood and revealed her onyx hair beneath it. Her eyes and face was placid, almost unemotional. There was seemingly nothing there, nothing but one small but potent hint of love, of care and tenderness. Her friend had changed since she came here. More and more, Konoha had lost her grip on the present, more and more moving in the future and the past as well. Asuna couldn't even begin to guess what her friend saw. Fate had once given her a riddle she could consider to try to understand it, Asuna's head had hurt after five minutes.

Walking with an almost ethereal grace, Konoka came into the room. Asuna gave her a smile, knowing full well that the usual pleasantries were long past useful for her. What use was there for questions like "am I interrupting something?" to someone who already knew this as clear as day? Instead her friend sat down, tilting her head slightly as she looked at Asuna. The princess met her friend's eyes, looking into them with a feel of happiness in her. It seemed strange, really strange, to anyone who just came up, but Konoka had changed so much and Asuna had adapted. There was a wordless connection between them.

"I'm afraid." Asuna said, she raised her legs to her chest and folded her arms around it, "If this war can be over within a year then I have to do it. We're running out of time as it is. But what if we lose? Then it's all over... I'm a princess, a ruler, and I can't even stop shaking." she looked at her hands. They were trembling, like her heart inside her chest, like her very soul.

"Time..." Konoka said slowly. "It warps around us all, we fear what's to come, long for what was and are eternally trapped in the middle." She had more and more begun to speak in riddles and metaphors. Yet, Asuna found them comforting. "There is a way in this clash of steel and death, as there are in all. Balance, the scales are balancing for us all, in one cup rests prudence, in one rests audacity."

"But what is that balance?" Asuna asked quietly. "When does prudence become cowardice and audacity foolishness?"

"The one who knew that would be wiser than anyone else." Konoka told her. Asuna sighed to herself. It wasn't comforting, but it helped. She really couldn't do anything else but taking the plunge.

"Thank you Konoka-chan." she said, happy for her friend's help. Konoha smiled back at her, it was such a faint smile compared to the old, radiant she once had given the world, but it was no less sincere.

"Leave tomorrow there, let today be that." Konoka told her friend as she stood up. Asuna nodded. It wasn't much, but Asuna had a distinct feeling that it was all that she could do. Fate had told her that seers were bound by laws unique to them. To judge a seer morally was the greatest mistake anyone could make.

Konoka got out of her seat and left the room, pulling her hood up as she left. In the doorway Setsuna was waiting for her, the girl having grown several inches these last years. The samurai-ko was wearing a plate mail consisting of arm and leg-guards, a harness, metal gloves and a headguard. The smiths of the bergafolk had made it specifically for her, it was light enough to allow her unrestricted flight and movement while still heavy enough to give her protection. The secret she had kept, that of her heritage, was now openly known to all and she had stopped disguising herself, meaning her white hair now flowed freely and her eyes were back to their normal red color. In every inch she was a warrior, Asuna had honestly felt as if she more and more lost sight of the girl beneath the warrior. Was there even one?

Asuna didn't know. As the door closed she got off the armchair she was in and walked up to her easel. She might as well clear her head of all this for now, enjoy these precious few moments. Mixing up the colors, she turned her thoughts of pondering to the rivaren she was painting. Simpler things could be her refuge for now, before the massive campaign begun. Before she threw tens of thousands of lives away to end this.

* * *

"Sol invicitus!" the crowd roared over and over as Asuna walked up to the speaker's pulpit, past the royal guards and banner carriers flanking the pulpit. From her position at the fourth level of the ziggurat she now looked out over a massive field where tens of thousands of soldiers were gathered. The prayer of her homeland's religion had become the war cry of her soldiers, an affirmation of what they were and what they fought to preserve. The field stretched all the way to the mountains and Asuna could see countless rows of soldiers, all standing in neat columns, ten all in all. They were an endless sea of grey and black, wearing camouflage colours that let them blend into the mountains.

Asuna raised her hands, asking for silence and being given it in mere instants. The movements in the sea of people below her abated and she could hear one instant of rumbling as they all stood at attention as one. The army below her was the apex of the warfare they had waged, chosen for their endurance and willpower, her advisors and closest men had picked together a type of soldier as mobile as deadly, as subtle as savage.

"My people." she begun the speech, the entire arena being silent. She could feel their eyes upon her, tens of thousands of eyes watching her high above them. "Sons and daughters of Vespertatia and the Pyriths." somewhere down the line of this war her people and the bergafolk seemed to have merged. More and more Vespertatians had started wearing the clothes of the Bergafolk and adapted their customs, the opposite being as true for the tribesmen of these mountains. It seemed as if they were truly long lost kin now united once more.

"Thirteen years ago." she begun, feeling how she slowly relaxed and watching the sea of people. She couldn't see any of their individual faces but knew they saw hers, magic made her least feature visible from a mile away. "Without provocation, without reason, without any cause other than greed, we were attacked by a people whom we never sought to harm or carried ill will against. They came over our borders, armies of them. They slashed and burned their way through this nation until we finally managed to stop them, however briefly. At Ostia, at the gates of our capitol, the fairest city in the world, they showed their true colors. Like an insane man, raging whenever he's not given the least he desires, they burned our capitol to the ground, tearing the very magic that sustained it apart and leaving it a broken husk!" That was the truth, nothing else. It had been the demons summoned by her powers going berserk that savaged Ostia but hers was not the guilt, it was Megalomesembria and no one else carrying that guilt .

"In the ruins we wandered, terrified, broken and suffering." Asuna continued, "They carried me off in secrecy, aiming to understand how I could have survived. In the wake of their terrible I was marked, coming to carry the very death of all magic within me and they coveted it, like they covet all things that is not theirs already! Months passed, months where all I remember even today is needles and painful lights."

"And you, my people." she continued. "were hunted, enslaved, humiliated, played with and abused by those who by all rights should have honoured and respected you! What did we do my people? What did we do to earn this defilement of Vespertatia? This ravaging of Ostia and this enslavement of our kin? What?" The answer came to her in form of a deafening roar. The men below her roared. Letting out their anger and their hate. This entire army consisted of nearly exclusively young men, they had been but children when Ostia fell and when the Megalomesembrian armies butchered their way through the Pyrith mountains, they were old enough to remember but young enough to have been utterly helpless and to have had that anger boiling in them ever since. They hated the Megalomesembrians, they were fanatically loyal to her, they were the perfect army and Asuna hated herself for thinking of her people in that way. She raised her hands, asking for silence once again.

"Three years ago!" she said, "I said that dawn was coming for our people. And that dawn is you! You, soldiers of Vespertatia, warriors of a kind never before seen in this world! As the sun rises above these mountains and shines upon our enslaved nation you will pour out from them, unleashing such terrible vengeance upon them that in a thousand years they will not have stopped trembling at the memory!" the tens of thousands of soldiers amassing in these mountains were indeed of a kind never seen before. To counter the massive advantages the Megalomesembrian forces had equipment and training-wise they had come up with what had to be the most hare-brained gambit ever pulled in the history of warfare: firearms.

"And as I set you loose upon these murderers I rejoice!" Asuna continued, "For I see in you the best of our peoples! I see in you fierce beasts and gallant knights both! You are the pinnacle of our two peoples made into one!" Yes, firearms in the magical world. Buying up large stockpiles of Cold War equipment they had gained enough firearms, from assault rifles to rocket artillery, to equip the ten divisions below them fully. The obvious discrepancy in power levels between the mundane firearms and the magical combat equipment used by Megalomesembria had been addressed through one of the bergafolk's specialities, magical runes. Using the same basic principles as the ones behind the bergafolk tattoos they had managed to create runes small enough to mark each and every last bullet, rocket, shell and what have you in this army. This special ammunition was produced on an industrial scale in the crude factories they had managed to set up in the mountains. Was it insane or brilliant? Early tests had shown promising results but who knew? Perhaps it all would come crashing down when they attacked. That was the main part of the gamble they were about to wage.

"So go! Warriors of Vespertatia and the Pyriths! Our enslaved kin awaits us! Ostia awaits us! Freedom awaits us!"

"Sol Invicitus!" the army below her roared. "Sol invicitus! Sol invicitus!" Asuna turned around now and left, hearing the roars behind her. For a moment she felt a sense of comfort, their ferocity and devotion was that powerful. Perhaps they could pull this mad gambit off...

The army started to saddle up, heading out to their transports and ships and readying themselves to leap out of the Pyriths in numbers and forces not seen before. Asuna, however did something else. She headed back to her large mansion and walked into a small room in the back of it. Inside there she had gotten a small shrine built, a "Twilight shrine" as her people called it. It was, put simply, a shrine to remember the dead. A large, black stone tabled stood inside the room, enchanted to show all the names of those who had died in battle. Magic did it possible to not only add all the names but made them legible as well.

She sat down in seiza in front of the stone and put her hands against it, letting her fingers slide over it as she summoned name after name of the soldiers that had died in this war thus far. There were enough names that it would take days to read through it all. She made sure to seek out one name however, Hasumi Ayumu. That was the name of the blonde woman who had died that day three years ago when Asuna had learned how much was at stake here. She still remembered the maimed body and the tormented voice of the first dead soldier she had seen and she made sure to keep remembering it, if the deaths of her people lost meaning, then what would happen to her?

After having said a small prayer for her and by extension for all the deaths this war had caused Asuna looked up at a small statue standing to her right, in an alcove on the wall. She got to her feet and walked over to the foot high statue, looking at its features. The statues in shrines like these were commonly meant for especially missed persons and the person it depicted was badly missed indeed. It was Kagetarou who was depicted in obsidian and marble, the shadow user had died a year ago during one of the countless battles they had fought. He had come up against a squad of Megalomesembria's deadliest soldiers, the Praetorian slayers, a special unit meant to take down dragons and such things. Asuna didn't know the details, only that the battle had raged for hours and razed an entire town. In the end, it had been the slayers that remained standing.

Bowing her head towards the statue and putting her hands up in a praying gesture, Asuna thought of the secretive man she never really had come to know. Unlike Kazuro, Kurt, Takeda, even Ormgeirr to an extent, Kagetarou had remained distant to her. He had said that he was a servant and underling, no more, and had never opened up to her. It had worked; Asuna, while saddened by his passing, hadn't found herself thrown into the kind of dark depression that had accompanied the deaths of Negi or her family, not even close. It had merely been a regrettable but manageable loss. Considering how he had saved her Asuna had realized that they could have ended up very close if not for his distancing. Never the less, he had been one of the great heroes in this war, both through his power, his devotion and his ability to go beyond the call of duty. She missed him and prayed now to remember him, to take inspiration and strength from him.

After a rough minute she took a deep breath and left the room. Shutting the door, she made one last, quick prayer, hoping that all this would not be for naught.

* * *

A/N: So yeah, timeskip. I think it is here that the upgraded pace will be the most evident. As previously mentioned, a lot of the side-plots sadly won't be fully spun out, they'll be shown but not dwelt upon. I hope that works for you, it's the only solution that works for me at least. Hope you don't hate me for the VT armanent issue either. I'll see you next year everyone! Merry Christmas


	20. Armageddon

Chapter 20: Armageddon

* * *

At one of the strongpoints of the defence-line covering the land-bridge between the Pyriths and the Vespertatian peninsula things were slow as always. By the large viewscreens that showed the scans of the mountain exits the mages were only keeping one eye at the screen. They hadn't truly done their job for months now, it was an exercise in futility anyhow. The Vespertatian "terrorists" or "dissidents" as they were to be called by law (there had been one incident along this defence line where an officer had been demoted after calling them the VAF, Vespertatian Armed Forces which had been the name of Vespertatia's forces before the war.) went through this line like nothing. They did suppose that what they did stopped at least the bigger forces from getting through but people wondered, lately even actual cruisers had been seen on the other side of the line. It was mainly a cushy area of deployment where you worked your twelve hours and then relaxed.

Therefore, when the screen suddenly flared up, the men on duty actually hesitated for a second. It took them a while to understand what was happening as the alarm begun to wail and red symbols appeared on the screen. It was only a second through, then everyone rushed to their positions, practically leaping into their swivel-chairs to see what was going on. From a back room one of the officers came running out after a moment, coming up to see what was going on

"Status re..." he begun as he came up to the screen before he stopped in his tracks and came ot just stare at the screen, just like how the men in the chairs were merely gaping at the sight.

On the screen which showed a 3-D map of the Pyrith foothills an entire swarm of red dots had appeared. Literally dozens of them were flying straight at the defence line and move were coming out of the unscannable areas deeper into the mountains. They moved fast too, fast enough that they couldn't possibly be the kind of rust-buckets the terrorists generally flew.

"What the taint..." someone whispered in credulously before the screen flared up and a series of lines and dots of light shot from the small symbols indicating the ships. Before anyone could do anything the lines and dots had reached the defence line. It became all too clear what those things had been as a series of explosions rocked the ground, screens going black, alarms beginning to wail and red lights beginning to flash all over the screens.

"Shit!" someone yelled, "Status report!" First now the Megalomesembrians were torn out of their stupor and begun to work, quickly assessing what was happening as another swarm of shots came from the ships.

"Defence-grid at sixty-seven percent!" a voice yelled, "Shields are down, power is failing, strongpoint 5 and 7 not responding!"

"Reroute power to non-critical systems!" the officer yelled, "Inform HQ, now!" he had just enough time to say that before the second salvo hit them and this time the explosions rocked the place even worse, people were thrown out of their chairs and the lights went out, leaving only flickering screens to give light as power lines burst all over the place and showers of sparks rained down on their heads. "Damn it!" he yelled, "Evacuate, evacuate!" the men started leaving their chairs, the floor or simply their positions, running desperately for the exit, yet only seconds later a third salvo came, rocking the mountain, making the walls and ceilings cave in and utterly and completely razing the entire outpost.

In less than a minute the massed forces of the Vespertatians had blasted the defence lines to shreds, knowing exactly where to hit them and bringing an overwhelming firepower to bear against it. Four cruisers, a dozen destroyers and all in all forty different assault ships flew over the now blasted defence line at maximum speed, several dozen troop carriers following them. The fleet of Vespertatia moved in full force into their homeland, in greater numbers and with more powerful equipment than ever before and no less fierce, determined and well-trained.

* * *

On the bridge of the Infragilis Admiral Takeda looked out across the fields they were flying over. They were making good progress, the lines had been annihilated in less time than expected and the fleet now headed for Ostia in force. The capitol would be a tough nut to crack, urban fighting was always hell. Yet, they had a few aces up their sleeves. The princess sitting a few meters behind him was one of those, her magic cancel, the martial might of the heroes standing with her, they had thrown everything they had into this. If they kept pushing, wiping out the Megalomesmebrian fleet and using their weaknesses against them they could very well push the enemy far enough that they'd have to negotiate for peace. He just hoped that the outrage of the Megalomesembrian people would be enough to force the hand of their leaders, otherwise...A young sub-officer came up to him, saluting him as she stopped beside him.

"The general call has gone out across the nation." she said, "Every last resistance cell existing has hit the enemy as hard as they were capable, the country is in flames." Takeda looked at the young woman, she was impeccably clothed and had a young, enthusiastic face. She was part of the generation of war, the ones who had been children when the nation fell and grown up knowing only loss and the oath sworn by their parents to take it back. Takeda nodded towards her and the girl walked off.

That was one of the main aces. With the rest of the country currently having exploded in fighting as insurgent agents all over the country struck at the occupiers they'd have time to deploy their elite fighters to reclaim the capitol. Warlord Ormgeirr and Paladin Kazuro would both lead the best men available to wipe out the entrenched enemy forces and within weeks the princess would be crowned queen upon the solar throne. That, however, was what it hung on, everything depended on them reaching and hitting Ostia fast and hard. The capitol was first and only when it was taken they could move on the rest of the nation.

Thus far things were going smoothly. They were heading towards the city in full speed. The defence line had been a heavy one but they hadn't really expected them to come at it like this and with that power and precision.. After that there had been nothing, the road was clear for them to head to Ostia. The enemy supreme commander, Executor-in-chief Maxwell Sterning, was outsmarted and Takeda, who had been contesting the man militarily for three years, was not going to let this opportunity go.

Wait a second... Takeda suddenly realized something. Even if the defence-line had been heavy, why exactly was there nothing beyond it? No mobile troops, no heavy artillery, no secondary defences. Was it an oversight? If the line was meant as a deterrent mainly it would make sense.. but knowing Maxwell... Something was off about it and it made Takeda worry, more and more. When the air around the fleet was filled with sudden, titanic flashes of light, he had already understood something was wrong.

It took only seconds, no more, for the cascade of lights to have abated and then there were not just one fleet in the air. There were four. Three entire fleets had appeared, teleportation-rings the size of entire towns blazing on the ground under them, and Takeda felt his heart freeze to ice. Staring at the screens, he got a swift estimate of the enemy forces. There were so many red dots, too many! The Megalomesembrians didn't have this many ships in Vespertatia! And the worst thing was that he saw a total of three giant dots, larger than anything else: Superdreadnaughts!

"All ahead! Full speed!" he roared instinctively. If the stopped they were dead! "Ahead, ahead, ahead!" he roared as he watched the princess stand up from her armchair in shock. Sol bless his bridge crew for they obeyed him. The pilots pushed the engines into overdrive, making the ship lurch forwards as it accelerated, the gunnery officers charged the weapons, the comm-officers threw themselves on their equipment and yelled at the rest of the fleet to follow them. "Fire all guns! Launch all lances! Cover the transports and tell them to saddle up for boarding action!" He roared at the top of his lungs as the all too familiar sounds of magi-cannon fire begun to howl outside the ship.

The value of a well-trained crew had never meant more to Takeda than now, his crew responded flawlessly, shouting out responses and obeying his orders. The princess however...

"What the hell are you doing!" princess Asuna yelled behind him and Takeda looked back, something wild in his only eye.

"It's an ambush!" he said, "But we have to take the fight to them, if we try to flee they'll shoot us down! If we leap in amongst them the other two fleets can't fire as us.

"But we can't defeat a fleet like this!" her highness protested, looking around in fear.

"No but we'll last longer up close than at distance." Takeda said. "And what are you waiting for!" he yelled at the people standing around the princess. "Get out there and fight damn it!" He didn't have to ask twice. From Ormgeirr to Takamichi, they all moved, leaving in blurs of motion. Only the giant dog Kotaro remained by his mistress' side. Takeda looked around. "And where is that god damn seer? She can't have not known about this!" he continued.

At the time Konoka was far away however. She was hiding down in one of the hangars, having crawled in behind some cargo containers and sat shivering in a foetal position. Tears streamed down her face and she breathed raggedly as her mind was assaulted over and over again by floods of images, all of them of death and defeat. Fate was strung as tightly as a bowstring, not being the least changeable anywhere. Konoka knew, she couldn't have not known that this would happen. But nowhere was a way out. This was meant to be, seemingly decreed by reality itself. She was helpless, seeing over and over again the inevitable, and she felt like she would break from the pain. She couldn't do anything, Asuna-chan was trapped, cornered with an overwhelming enemy coming at her with all it had. At best she and her men would take down a third of their attackers before they were wiped out and Asuna captured. And she... she who had come here to help, couldn't do anything! She still couldn't do anything!

* * *

The chaos was total, while the Megalomesembrians were still reeling from the teleportation the quick thinking Vespertatians could only just throw themselves in right smack dab in the middle of the forward enemy fleet. In the pandemonium that became of it a bloodbath begun. The Megalomesembrians started firing only moments after the teleportation, tearing several of the transports out of the sky even as they threw themselves at the enemy battleships at point blank range. More of them reached the ships however, the Vespertatian cruisers protecting them with supporting fire, shields and even their hulls if needed.

Around the larger ships the skies begun to shiver as hundreds of lance riders clashed and Asuna's heroes threw themselves into the battle. Takamichi had leaped aboard the second of the Vespertatian cruisers, the Fortis, and was now raining blows in all directions. He had more or less formed a sphere around himself, a hundred meters in all directions, where the sky was clear of enemy lance riders. Anyone entering that zone was cut down by his blows, just like the destroyer he was currently pounding with all he had, tearing open large holes in it.

Kazuro, meanwhile, currently ran down the length of a Vespertatian destroyer and shot off it into the air. His glaive was pulled back and gleamed with energy as he came face to face with a Magalomesembric ship just as it unleashed a massive beam of energy right at him. Kazuro only sneered and cut the beam in half, causing the massed energy to detonate. The crew on the Megalomesembric ship was stunned as the beam pretty much exploded in their face, Kazuto coming out of the debris only a second later and swinging his glaive in a wide arc that ended up cutting off the cannon's entire projector.

Ormgeirr currently had both his arms buried up to the elbows in the hull of another ship, having shoved them in there by brute force. Tearing his arms to the side, he slowly tore the ship open. Two feet of hardened steel was ripped apart like paper. Inside the ship he was forcing himself into the crewmen on the bridge looked up on the ceiling in horror. The army buckled, bent and finally tore, revealing the sky and a shadowed figure staring down at them through the several foot wide hole torn in the solid metal. The figure grinned at them before leaping down onto the bridge, blood splattering across the windows of said bridge only moments later.

Setsuna could make no such claims to brute force, the samurai-ko instead flying through the air on white wings and with a sword blazing with equally white energy. She moved quicker than a peregrine falcon and in her wake only death was left; she cut through lance riders and ships equally well. Even a cruiser that ended up in her path proved no match for her. Narrowing her eyes as the ship came straight at her, its main cannon charging up, Setsuna focused as she flew towards it. Accelerating, she pulled her sword backwards and with one swing of the blade just as the cannon fired she unleashed her own blast of energy. She banked right, getting out of the way right before the cannon hit her, and the arc of energy she had unleashed flew right at the bridge of the ship. When it hit the glass, however it vanished, reappearing right behind the glass and slicing through several of the bridge crew and paralyzing the ship like a snake with its head cut off.

In this chaos of a battlefield, however, there were still some people watching the scene clearly. Upon the flagship of the Megalomesembrian fleet, the Svanhvit, a large room was currently filled with screens and black-clothed people looking at them. A full dozen people were working frantically, digging through immense amounts of data of all kinds in their search for their goal. Eventually one of them found it.

"I got her!" the man yelled, "the lead cruiser, on the bridge!" another man, this man walking behind them, leaned forwards to look at the man's screen. Nodding, he raised a hand to his forehead and sent a mental message.

"_Target spotted, lead cruiser, bridge! Go, go, go!" _In one of the hangars of the ship a black-armored man looked back at the dozen other men behind him and raised his fist. Pointing forwards with two fingers, he urged them all to action and within a second they were all gone. Megalomesembria's finest, the Praetorian slayers, shot through the air, moving subtly and almost imperceptibly towards the Infragilis.

Upon the bridge of the ship Asuna looked around in despair. Her people were dropping like flies! This wasn't how it was meant to go! How could it be a trap? Takeda was running around, barking orders to everyone with a desperate look on his face, and Asuna ended up just sitting there. What was she going to do, what could she do?

It was then she noticed Kotaro's face having turned towards the windows of the bridge. Asuna looked out of them just in time to see them shatter inwards. Her hands flew up to her face to shield them and she screamed as a sudden and instant pandemonium broke out on the large, open bridge.

The beast howled. The hostile things came through the window, their intent clear as day as they launched themselves towards its alpha. With a massive howl, one that shattered whatever parts of the window which weren't already broken, it struck at them with black energies and tearing sonic waves. It was immediate, terrible and filled with all its anger. At once its fury had been lit, the threat to its alpha whipping it into white-hot fury.

The beast moved. Even with its massive sonic blast tearing through the air the hostile things came. They slashed their way through the shockwave, not being hindered the slightest. So it moved, launching itself at them with only one fact clear in its bestial mind. They must not get to the alpha! All its existence was focused now around that one fact, with greater focus and more singular determination than any sapient being could show the beast attacked.

The beast pounced. It leaped at the hostile things, fangs bared and claws out. It slashed at the nearest of the hostile things, its massive claws rending the very air apart. Yet its claws didn't even scratch the hostile thing, instead only hitting its armor and shield. A snarl of frustration ripped its way out of its throat.

The beast flew. It was thrown to the side, the hostile thing twisting its shield and using its momentum against it. It ended up flying across the bridge, crashing though one of the giant view-screens and falling down on its side with a loud whine. Getting to its feet, the beast realized that the hostile things were still going for its alpha. It snarled in anger.

The beast lashed out. Its three tails flew at the hostile things, wrapping themselves around the front three figures and smashing them into the opposite wall as the beast charged at them. It came with black energies whirling around it, an abyssal roar on its tongue and eyes glowing. Death! Its hunger for death and their corpses was all that filled it now along with its protective instincts.

The beast stood its ground. It was too canny to be fooled twice. Digging its claws into the metal floor, the beast kept itself in place when the hostile things tried to throw it to the side again. Only meters away from its alpha it now launched into a flurry of claws, fangs, steel and death. No matter what happened they were not getting past! That was the primal law carved into its mind, the loyalty of the pack and the love it felt for the members of it.

The beast fought. At speeds too great for normal humans to behold it flung itself at the hostile things, tearing through armor with his bare fangs, spitting blasts of dark energies, roaring in fury. It fought without any self-restraint or self-preservation, magical weapons biting deep into its flesh as it defended the thing that meant more to it than anything else.

The beast did not yield. Even as the blades dug deep into its body, inflicting grievous wounds upon it, it did not stand down. It snarled in rage as dark blood flew in all directions but even as a dozen blades ended up buried deep in his body, the beast disarming them simply by having the weapons stuck in it, it did not yield. It roared, fought even as the wounds turned from grievous to fatal. And it did not give up its alpha. Even as it more and more lost its ability to move, frantically scratching impotently at the floor in an effort to keep moving, it remained standing, guarding its alpha. Eventually, in the end, it gave up one last breath, dying to protect its pack and alpha.

Alpha? Suddenly the word felt so strange, so unfitting… It was not the word for her… it was not that… she was not alpha… She was Asuna… something else… yes… she was the mate of… no… not mate… she was the girl Negi had loved… This was the last thought that came to the beast, to Kotaro, before he died. The image of Negi blazed in its mind, in his mind, and Kotaro died feeling despair. Its animal mind once again became more than that only for it to understand that he had failed.

In the chaos upon the bridge Asuna hadn't been able to understand anything before it came to a halt. The giant flurry of energies and movement and screaming in front of her came to a sudden halt, Asuna realizing before anything else the blood. The blood was everywhere on the suddenly devastated bridge. Not only blood too, but body parts as well, maimed, torn asunder bodies. The epicenter of destruction was right in front of her to boot. Kotaro stood in front of her, having stepped out to protect her in the same very instant whatever had broken through the window had done so. He now stood with his legs wide and his body facing away from her, Asuna first understanding after a second that he had several large spears shoved through his body.

Asuna now grew cold, her heart skipping a beat in sheer fright and shock. She realized that there was a veritable sea of blood beneath Kotaro, the spears still dripping blood down on the floor. What more, Kotaro didn't move. He didn't pant, look back or even move; instead he just stood there, still as a statue.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as one of the figures who had come in through the window, a giant of a man wearing Megalomesembrian armor, threw himself past the still body of Kotaro. The man was unarmed, bloody and battered, yet he still moved, heading straight for Asuna. Asuna, staring in shock at Kotaro's still body, only acted at the very last second. Reaching back over her throne, she pulled out the large blade that hung there. Shock had turned to anger as the man threw himself at her she held out the blade, piercing him and killing him instantly. Screaming, Asuna plunged forwards, nailing the man towards the wall.

Staring at the now dead Praetorian, Asuna then turned to Kotaro. Letting go of the sword and running up to the giant beast, Asuna took its giant head in her hands, turning it up to face her.

"Kotaro!" she exclaimed, looking into the eyes where no longer that deep, powerful light could be seen. "Kotaro!" She yelled again. She could tell from his eyes but she did not want to accept it. Kotaro couldn't be dead! This couldn't be happening! Not here, not like this! She hadn't even understood what happened until it was too late! Asuna felt her eyes misting up, the anger and frustration turning to grief. In the end she fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around Kotaro's giant head and held it close to her, sobbing.

* * *

It was a massacre. The Vespertatian transports threw themselves at the Megalomesembric ships, many of the managing to disgorge their cargo upon the ships. By whatever means were available, explosives, focused mass spell fire, holes blown by Vespertatian ships, the soldiers crawled into the ships even as many of them lost their grips and ended up falling off the vessels and plunging towards the ground. More transports were blasted to shreds in mid-air, hundreds of soldiers being vaporized without any ability to fight back or get away. Those who did get into the ships however only fought all the harder, the hate in them burning more intensely than ever before.

Burning with their lust for vengeance for their murdered brethren, the Vespertatian soldiers shot their way through the ships, showing no mercy whatsoever. Fleeing Megalomesembrians were gunned down, those who surrendered had their throats slit on the spot, crew quarters and sickbays were blown to pieces. The ships that were cleansed of all Megalomesembrians were turned on their former masters, many of the Vespertatian veterans familiar with the controls after many years of warfare. Meanwhile in the skies around the ships the Vespertatians savagely contested the waves of Megalomesembric lance riders, using everything from their own lance riders to proximity mines to tear them out of the sky. And throughout the terrifying battlefield Setsuna, Kazuro, Ormgeirr, Fate, Takamichi and Kurt all fought, each of these grand heroes destroying everything in their path.

It was not enough.

The Megalomesembrians were too many, too well armed and too powerful. The Vespertatian armed forces still was a light, mobile one, one that now faced down a fleet ten times as numerous and ten times as heavy, Megalomesembria had thrown everything it had into this battle, seeking to utterly annihilate their foes. The Fortis soon exploded, a direct hit from the giant superdreadnaught Garandia ripping it in two pieces. The Infragilis was burning in several places and the bridge seemed to have been destroyed. Many of the destroyers had been annihilated and only a few of the transport ships were even intact. Slowly, by overwhelming force and attrition, the Vespertatians were destroyed.

None felt it more keenly than Konoka, the girl near a mental collapse from the pain and the horror. Death! Everything died! Everyone died! She couldn't do anything! Death! Asuna-chan would be taken! She would be enslaved, her mind violated into total submission! Death! Nothing would be there except a marionette, one devoid of everything! Death! Takahata-sensei and his friend would die! The bergafolk annihilated to the last child! Death! Why was she so powerless? Death! Death! Death! Everything came to an end; she would die in minutes as well! Nothing could be done! No road led anywhere but to death!

Then, in a blaze of sudden insight, Konoka saw. She saw into the fabric of time, more keenly than any other time before. Amongst the twisting, winding paths of all things she saw one path, one option. She startled from her fetal position, getting out of it and looking around herself. She saw it! Launching herself to her feet, she ignored the dizziness and started running unsteadily towards the exit of the hangar she was in. Forcing magic into her limbs and body, she threw herself into the air. Flying wasn't something she did well but she managed to stay afloat. Forcing herself higher and higher, she did not think about anything else, she had to do it, she had to!

* * *

Aboard the bridge of the Infragilis chaos was a fact. Most of the control panels had been destroyed in the savage battle between Kotaro and the Praetorians and healers were desperately working to save those who had been badly injured. Takeda walked back and forth, staring out of the now broken window if no other option existed in his efforts to get an overview of the battle. Running his hands through his hair with gritted teeth, he desperately thought, tried to figure something out, anything. Her highness had let go of Kotaro and looked towards him, Takeda being unable to meet her eyes. How could he? He was the one who had put them in this mess and as the entirety of the Vespertatian army, his pride and joy which had taken him years to create, was wiped out Admiral Takeda for the first time found himself unable to think of anything.

"Takeda!" Asuna yelled, "We have to get out of here!"

"I know damn it!" Takeda answered hoarsely, looking around himself. What were they going to do? Throwing themselves headlong onto the enemy was the only thing that saved them even this far but now they were thrice as damned, the other two fleets were closing in, soon they'd be upon them as well. Already now they were slowly losing. This meat-grinder cost the Megalomesembrians as well but it was not they who were ground to pieces here.

Gritting his teeth, he slammed his fists into one of the broken panels, despair worming its way into him. He breathed harshly, the helplessness a poison to him. Why? Why now of all times? What had they done to deserve this? Looking back towards his princess, the girl he had sworn he'd put on the throne, he could only meet her despairing gaze with one equally such. He was broken… he had failed her… Now they'd all die. An explosion ripped through the further end of the bridge, killing several crewmembers instantly, and Takeda could only stand there.

Then, the world turned peaceful. Takeda blinked, feeling a tidal wave of serenity, calm and hope wash over him. From one second to another all thoughts of war and death vanished from his mind, leaving him as calm and as secure as in his mother's embrace. The flames went out all around him, the fighting died down outside. The din of war was wiped away as the tidal wave of serenity took them all in its arms, holding them and comforting them.

In the sky high above the battlefield a second sun had now lit. Konoka hovered above the battlefield, holding her arms out to the sides. Magic on an immense scale pulsed from her as she swept the entire battlefield in this mantle of serenity. Below her all fighting had stopped, the calmness she granted everyone below her making fighting impossible. The warmth, the loving embrace, she granted made all thoughts of death foreign to the people below her.

Takeda stared on one of the few remaining screens aboard the Infragilis, hardly believing his sole remaining eye. The entire battlefield had stopped existing, leaving only damaged ships slowly bobbing in the air. Takeda found it hard to think, he just wanted to sit down and bask in the warmth, the love and the care of the spell. Yet, he still could think, he still could act. Even in this entrancing stillness he could remember who he was.

"Order a general retreat." He said softly to the crew. "Recall all boarding parties you can, move…!" the last word became drawn out, sleepy, but still spoken with power. He focused himself completely, managing to give the order and propel his men into action. "Move, move, general retreat." He continued, chanting it almost like a mantra.

* * *

Konoka's massive serenity spell worked. The Megalomesembrians tried but found themselves unable to do anything to stop the Vespertatians. The boarding parties could retreat without opposition, even as they moved slowly and stumbling. The countless ship cannons had fallen silent. Lance riders hovered in the air. The Vespertatians could start moving away under the cover of the spell, the Megalomesembrians unable to fire at them or indeed even to pursue them.

Only fourth of the Vespertatian fleet was intact, many of the ships were damaged and the few captured vessels were in even worse shape as the fleet hobbled away, a confused Megalomesembrian fleet only watching them. They knew they should do something but they just couldn't think of anything. Battle and struggle of any kind just seemed so far away. Strange, even childish thoughts seemed to come to them. The captain of the Garandia stared dumbly at the retreating fleet, wondering what that voice screaming in the back of his head wanted him to do. Should he help the damaged ships? Use the Garandia's heavy shield projectors to create a cushion for the ship to use? In the cruiser Typhon the main gunner found himself engrossed in the thoughts he had entertained a long time about turning the cannon into a giant fireworks gun. The soldiers who only minutes ago had been in a desperate battle to defend the mothership Calaban from the boarding Vespertatians ended up stumbling between the corpses of their attackers, frantically hoping that anyone was alive as the mere thought of death, anyone's death, suddenly was abhorrent to them.

The Vespertatians could slowly retreat, protected by the spell of the seeress. Everything was so slow, so gentle and so caring, that they found themselves almost in a dream landscape, one where the horrors of war was so far away and their souls so at peace.

Yet, there was one person that still moved. Maxwell Sterning stood aboard the Svanhvit, having followed the massive superdreadnaught into battle. Having been holed up in the strategy room, the man was now moving down the corridors as fast as he could. His face was red, his teeth gritted and the veins on his forehead pounding as he fought the spell. More than anything he just wanted to sit down and rest but the fury and fanatic drive in his eyes did not let him. Growling, he tore the door to the bridge open, seeing the entire bridge crew sitting down or even lying down in some cases, many of them with distant, blissful smiles on their faces.

Maxwell did not smile; he hurried down the large, circular room with his eyes almost bulging as he fought the spell. Rage boiled in him, he refused to give up here! The terrorist was in his grasp! He, would, not, give, her, up! If they could take her, control her, then his country would win at last! He tore the man by the main gun controls out of his swivelling chair and sat down. The whispers urging him to just sit back and feel at peace seemed to only rise in him. He did not give in though, with the creed of the eighty-first pounding in his mind he took control of the Svanhvit's cannon.

The target was in clear and Maxwell zeroed in on it. It was she, just as he had thought. That old world so called, "seer"; the brat of one of those Crimson Wing mercenaries. Maxwell found himself smiling manically as he grabbed the controls of the gun; even with the whispers approaching a crescendo for him he only felt savage glee. The eighty-first had been humiliated repeatedly by the Crimson Wing during the war and while he was a man who always put the mission first as he pushed down the fire button he felt a surge of personal pride.

The cannon of the Svanhvit charged in moments, the massive gun gathering up titanic amounts of energy before it spat it all out. One, coherent beam of light, more powerful than all but the greatest spells, shot through the air, straight at Konoka. The girl only had time to open her eyes wide in fright and shock before it hit her right on. It did not even detonate, her small body only being burned to ashes, dust and nothing in one single instant. Konoka was annihilated, the only mercy being that it went too fast for her to even understand what happened before she was utterly and finally undone.

The field of serenity was undone with its weaver and in seconds the fleets, Megalomesembrian and Vespertatian, both came back to reality. Shaking their heads, the Megalomesembrians realized in moments that the Vespertatians were gone, now being several kilometers away, nearly beyond range- Maxswell rose from his seat, bellowing orders in a state of utter fury, and within seconds the skies started to fill again as the Megalomesembrians turned around and aimed their cannons towards the fleeing fleet. Yet, that was only one of the reactions.

* * *

"Ojou-sama!" Setsuna screamed as her mind could come back to the present. She had been utterly unprepared for Konoka's spell, having a hard time resisting her ward's magic even if she had been, and the girl had ended up landing on one of the ships, looking towards the sky and the radiant light of her friend. She had been so happy, so content.

Then Konoka had been annihilated.

Setsuna's mind shattered. The overload was complete, the memories of Konoka and their years together hit her like a freight train along with all her oaths, all her promises and goals. Both them impacted, at full speed, with the fact more clear than anything else. Konoka had died!

Raggedly breathing, having sunken to her knees, Setsuna stared towards the sky where Konoka only moments ago had been hovering. Her eyes were wide, empty and disbelieving in equal parts. The denial came like an avalanche that hit against the wall of obviousness that the sight of Konoka's annihilation became. The guilt wrapped her in a sudden cocoon of steel, choking all life out of her. Her sole reason for existing, the one thing she had allowed herself, throwing away her hopes at happiness, throwing away her love for Kotaro, was gone. She had dumbly stared as her ward was annihilated, failing every last expectation and goal set before her in one stroke.

Then came the rage. It boiled up in her so fast that one would have missed it if one blinked. The rage wiped away all coherent thought, all ability to question, to consider and to remember. All that came to fill her was a bottomless, eternal rage, a frenzied fury older than time itself. It was the perfect diamond of anger and Setsuna screamed.

It was inhuman, filled with a hate that no sentient being should be able to produce, a seething hate-drenched scream that echoed across the world, filled to the brim with the perfection of all fury. Energies exploded around Setsuna, pale-white energies as ominous as any other could be, and soon she exploded into light as bright as that of her friend. The Setsuna that came out of the light, furthermore, was not the one her friend or anyone else had known.

Large, bony, scaled, hands and feet with four talon-tipped fingers and toes. Wrists just as gnarled which ended in feathers right before her sleeve. A head that had turned feather-covered and beaked. A large crow's beak stood out from her head, one blood red eye on each side of said head. In one strike Setsuna the hanyo was gone, only Setsuna the full demon remained. Her humanity burned away, Setsuna now stood ten times as terrible.

With one blur of motion she moved, throwing herself off the ship she was on and straight at the fleet. She had been fast as thunder before, now however she was lightning. Her fury was as white-hot as Kotaro's had ever been and she held back not one iota. The poor destroyer which became the first in her path was cleaved in two in one instant, Setsuna's sword glowing with a nearly blinding light.

In rage, Setsuna went all out on the massive fleet. It was absurd, one demon against dozens of ships, but she did it. Carnage was left in her wake, a single scream, filled with all her hate and rage, sent the lance riders all around into oblivion, tearing sunder clothes and skin, breaking bones and shattering equipment. She tore a cruiser out of the sky, her sword nearly cleaving it in two with one stroke. Several assault crafts were brought down by a hailstorm of massive energy bolts unleashed only seconds later. The pursuing fleet found itself thrown into disarray from the bloodthirsty avenger in their midst and Setsuna simply did not stop, instead only continuing, one after one, to bring down as many ships as she could, to claim as many deaths for Konoka's as she could.

It was all out, no defense, only savage offense, and Setsuna demanded in only a short time a truly terrible price In front of her mind's eyes Konoka was smiling, the image of her dead friend filling her. It drove her insane, she cut, cut and cut, slicing through flesh, metal and whatever came in. She hadn't known hesitation on the battlefield for years yet now she was ten times and focused, ten times as ferocious and ten times as deadly; she was berserking. The hatred burned her very being, as she cut yet another ship out of the sky.

Yet it was all for naught, soon her rampage was brought to an end. The heavy shield batteries of the Garandia was turned on her, capturing her in mid air as dozens of complex mandalas of energies appeared all around her, tearing the sword from her and sending it flying. With the demon captured the Svanhvit moved in for the kill. Setsuna shrieked in rage, a hoarse, avian cry for blood, as the giant ship turned towards her, it's main cannon blazing. Then it fired. The Garandia's restraints vanished the same split-second as the Svanhvit hit. It was a perfectly executed maneuver and it burned Setsuna out of the sky. Like Konoka, her closest friend and for whom she had sacrificed all personal joy, all personal advancement and all personal love, Setsuna died. It was a good death, a warrior's death, but she died crying. Her sword landed in the ground right then. It impaled itself into the ground, rising above the carnage left in the wake of the battle, jutting out from atop a large pile of debris. It was the only thing left of Setsuna, all else having been annihilated.

* * *

Now the battle resumed, while the main parts of the Vespertatian fleet had gained some distance too much of it, especially the transports, were still within range. Damaged, they flew unsteadily and slowly, like wounded fish all too easy for a hungry shark to take. Furious communication took place between the ships lagging behind and the main elements.

"We've got no luck, I say again, no luck! Our engines are barely running even at full power!" One of the ships cried out.

"Dump all possible cargo, lighten your loads!" Takeda yelled from aboard the savaged main deck of the Infragilis. They had already lost tens of thousands of lives, if they lost those men as well they could never hold back the fleet behind them if it went into the mountains!

"We have!" the ship answered "Unless you want us to toss the soldiers out of here we're shit out of luck!"

"All unharmed ships!" Takeda had to improvise. "Make an 360 turn to get the damaged ones into range, cushion their ships with your shields! Get them out of there!"

"But that'll throw us all back into the fray!" one of the captains protested.

"Just do it!" Takeda snarled before switching onto the general frequencies. "This is Admiral Takeda. There's no time for speeches so I'll be brief. We're in deep shit. Unless someone goes out there to hold back the enemy we're gonna all die here, the transports have to be saved, we can't win without those soldiers! I can't order any of you to this, those who go out there won't make it back. But otherwise none of us will. We'll make the 360 turn, those who are up for it, stop turning halfway and go for them." the telepathic message run across the entire fleet, making the blood of the Vespertatians go cold. Having already gotten away, many were terrified by the prospect of having to go back in there.

Yet, a testament to the valour of the Vespertatians came as ship after ship begun to send their affirmatives, volunteering for the suicide attack. As the Vespertatian fleet turned around it begun to fire again, meeting the Megalomesembrian cascade of energies with all they had. Several of the ships turned once again, mandalas of energies appearing under the damaged ships as they used their shield projectors to lighten their loads and let them speed up. Two full dozen ships kept going however, launching themselves into the battle once more. What more, two figures landed onboard the front ship. Fate Averruncus and Takahata Takamichi joined up with the delaying force, both their faces grim as they readied themselves.

"I'll be the shield." Fate said as he summoned a series of giant mandalas of energy. "You are the lance Takahata-san."

"Got it." Takamichi said, putting his hands together and making a flash of light appear between them. His face was worn and his clothes torn. Fate had one arm of his clothes torn off. They both were on the brink, having fought like madmen for the entire battle and now they both summoned the last of their strength. Takamichi had a feeling of despair in his guts, having noticed the death of Kotaro and been an unequivocal witness to both Setsuna's and Konoka's deaths. Yet, as Fate begun to parry the blasts of energy, beam after beam crashing into his huge magic shield, he focused. There was no death, no past, no future, there was only the present and the battle. He took the measure of the enemy fleet and grimly smiled at himself before unleashing a rapid succession of kanka blows

The massive Megalomesembric fleet and the small, battered Vespertatian fleet clashed in a furious struggle that to both sides meant anything. The majority of the Vespertatian soldiers were still alive, if they could get into the mountains they'd fortify them, make the Pyriths a giant fortress. If they didn't get away the resistance was doomed, it would have gambled all and lost totally. Therefore both Megalomesembrians and Vespertatians had all reason to charge into the battle with abandon and ferocity.

Fate and Takamichi were at the centre of the battle, the two working as one as they parried the spirit cannon beams of their enemy and lashed back with barrages of piercing kanka energy. With them stood a full dozen Vespertatian ships and hundreds of brave men and women, crewmen and soldiers, bergafolk and vespertatians both. The battle was brutal and short, the resistance did not go up against the their hated enemies to win, that was impossible. Indeed, even to hope for an equal loss in life was futile. They were human shields only, blocking the path of the enemy for long enough to let their comrades in arms escape. The final phase of the battle that started four hours ago and which had cost tens of thousands of lives ended within twenty minutes when the last of the Vespertatian ships was annihilated in a storm of fire and noise. Fate blocked the shockwave with a seven layered shield, his teeth gritted and a grunt escaping him from the exertion. He was thrown backwards and his back hit Takamichi's. Looking back at the man, he met his eyes in one quick glance.

"No more to be done here." he said, making a circular motion with his hand which created a watery trail in the air. "Stay with me." he completed the spell within a heartbeat, making a trail of water leap around them, wrapping around them before it expanded and formed an orb of water around them which soon was hit by a series of energy beams, however all they did was make the watery orb burst, the two people inside it had already teleported away.

And upon the savaged bridge of the Infragilis, in the chaos surrounding Takeda as he tried to get the fleet into the mountains, a patch of water suddenly formed on the ground. Nobody noticed it however, there was too much to do. There were still fires raging here and there, several crewmen had been summoned to deal with Kotaro's giant corpse, the princess was nearing a state of shock but had still remained functional. Yet, soon the two arose from the puddle, the admiral turning to look at them in shock.

They were a mess, Fate's clothes were ripped and several grazing wounds covered his body, his hair was singed in several places. One arm was hanging limp and the other was draped over Takamichi, holding him. Takamichi meanwhile...

Oh sol...

The man was missing his arm and a large part of his torso. Blood covered his clothes and his face was deathly pale. It was a wonder he could even stand! The gasp behind Takeda told him all he needed to know about whether the princess had seen it and Takamichi looked to the side, meeting Asuna's eyes. Giving her one, weak smile, the disciple of Gateau Kagura Vandenberg, Asuna's caretaker and her teacher, her first crush and the man who had sworn to give everything for her, collapsed forwards, the massive trauma of having half his upper body torn off killing the man before he even hit the floor.

* * *

A/N: Wow, so yeah, I heard someone say that the chapter where Tsukuyomi died wasn't depressing enough. You depressed yet?

Seriously though; this is if anything the chapter my readers will hate me for. However: this is war people, massive efforts undone, crushed by simple overwhelming force. Despair, horror, helplessness. People die, and it's not usually glorious, honourable, at times it seems simply just pointless. War is Hell.

We are approaching the resolution of this, however in what way, shape or form it will come, you'll just have to see. Thank you for staying with me this year as well, hopefully we're gonna get this fic to end this year (just kidding, we will)


	21. Death and despair

Chapter 21: Death and despair

* * *

They got back to Otila as the night fell, a furious activity breaking out now. Takeda had taken over the reins completely, dispatching soldiers all over the Pyriths. Messengers were sent out to every last bergafolk clan, reserves summoned in and every last weapon available thrown into the service. A general call went out all over Vespertatia for the civilian population to stand down, further rioting would only cause needless deaths. A sense of shock and despair permeated the entire city, the great offensive meant to end the war had been stopped in its tracks, shot to pieces before it even got close to Ostia. Tens of thousands of soldiers and crewmen had died and the blow to morale was even more devastating.

This perhaps, must be considered Takeda's finest hour. In the face of this horribly defeat he once again took firm and unrelenting control of things. His closest officers were brought back into line with brute force, the sub-officers relentlessly terrorized and kept constantly on their toes and via that the entire sum of their armed forces, despite the shock-induced paralysis, could move. From the headquarters on the third level of the giant pyramid, the man had been working for hours tirelessly. He had iron control over the situation, having given orders even down on platoon level a few times. The commands flew in all directions, like a symphony Takeda wove the forces of the Vespertatians and the bergafolk into what would become a giant web through the Pyriths, forming a solid and multi-layered defense in the matter of hours.

Yet now, as dusk had fallen over the city and the activity still was frantic, but focused thanks to his efforts, he found himself sitting on a chair in the tactical room, staring on the strategic map. With nothing left to do, at least for a few, precious, minutes, he could finally begin to think.

The situation was disastrous, there was no other way of putting it. His brilliant gamble had been utterly destroyed... he had been confident it could work, everything had seemed like they could pull it off. But it hadn't. He had underestimated the executor in chief... underestimated how far the man was able to go.

How many soldiers had died today? He didn't know, new numbers were ticking in all the time, each added number making him more and more sick. Thousands... tens of thousands... their casualties in this war had suddenly shot through the roof, all over the cause of one, god, damn, day! Years of preparation had suddenly lost their meaning.

How could he look his men in the eye now? Twice he had betrayed them. Firstly through this utter failure... secondly through the only way he could salvage the morale. He had lied to his men, to the entire army. Knowing full well that if they lost the faith in his ability as a commander half the battle would be lost, he had told them it was all as he had predicted. That he had thrown them all out as a bait for the Megalomesembrians and that now they'd come storming into the mountains, having gotten the scent of blood after this clear victory for them.

It had worked, they had swallowed it but the admiration in their eyes had in so many cases turned to shock and disgust. A large part of his officer corps had today lost all their respect for him. But the worst part was the part that hadn't... that had understood. Takeda felt the phantom pains in his lost eye, the words of his mentor echoing in the back of his head. He had no illusions what the man, a career officer with fifty years in the service when he died, would would think of his protege. He'd despise him... just like a large part of his subordinates would do now.

Would it work? Please let it work, please let the lost respect be a lesser blow than the lost trust would have been. Takeda leaned forwards over the table, clasping his hands and leaning his head against it.

"Please, great Sol." he whispered. "Please don't let all this be for naught. Please don't let this be the end!" he was actually close to sobbing now.

"I suppose the old saying about there being no faithless people on the battlefield holds true." a voice said and Takeda looked up to see Kazuro stand in the doorway. He had gotten out of his armour and wore normal, gray clothes now. The look on his face, however, was ice cold. The man walked into the room, tearing out a chair and sitting down. All the time he was looking at Takeda as if he wanted to tear his throat out.

"Question is if it's an argument against battlefields or against being faithless." Takeda answered. Kazuro didn't take the bait however.

"What happened out there?" he asked, deathly calm. "They say it was all some bullshit gamble of yours to draw the enemy out. If that's true I'll kill you. Answer." the Paladin didn't waste words, instead being almost bergafolkian in his bluntness.

"I failed." Takeda told the paladin. "I underestimated our opponent... we've been grinding at them for over a year, their casualties mounted, yet they made no move to adapt... hundreds of soldiers lost, just as he could draw us into a trap... I didn't think even he was able to be that ruthless. I expected him to have the basic decency to consider them anything more than pawns." he shrugged helplessly.

"So what's your plan now?" Kazuro asked and Takeda slowly shook his head.

"I don't know." he said with a sigh. "Dig in and prepare for the end is the only thing I can think of... You saw what they've called upon, with that fleet they must have a third of their entire armed forces in Vespertatia... there's no way we can defeat that. It'll take months to recover from a blow like this and by any estimates they'll soon be able to get into the mountains. Perhaps they can even now and merely waited for a chance to cull us?"

"We lost, didn't we?" Takeda looked up at the paladin, seeing the man's face suddenly show anxiety. He nodded.

"Perhaps the loss was fated the instant we tried to fight them openly... the people have bled and died in the near million for years, achieving nothing. Now our last stronghold will fall... Perhaps we should have rolled over... all these deaths... what point did they serve? Perhaps it would have been for the best to give up, obediently bend our necks and obey? In the face of a million deaths the pride and dignity of our people seems so pointless."

"One more word and I'll kill you." Kazuro said, still calm as could be "That's treason. I'm her highness' iron fist and won't abide it." Takeda leaning back with a sigh.

"My loyalty to the people, your to the princess... how is she?" he asked as he looked up at the roof.

"She's lost her beloved guardian animal, her closest friend, her teacher, countless of her subjects and the only hope at ending this." Kazuro said. "I'm going to check on her in ten minutes, I was booted out as she took a bath. She hasn't said a word since we got back." Takeda nodded.

"You have to get her out of it. We need her to raise morale. She might be the difference between a week long slaughter and a month long firm resistance."

"So that's what we're doing now?" Kazuro asked, almost chuckling. "Only setting the stage for a last stand?"

"Hellas has sealed the border, with some luck we can evacuate non-combatants but that's it." Takeda said soberly. Kazuro sighed and slowly nodded. Getting up from the seat, he left the strategies to the admiral. His concern was the princess and he hurriedly left the headquarters to check up on her highness.

As he entered the royal mansion he was immediately struck by the silence. In the corner, where Kotaro always had lain, there was now nothing. The animal did not come up to him to carefully sniff on him to check whether he was a threat to their mistress. He was gone, had died. The loss was palpable, even to Kazuto who hadn't really gone along with the animal, cat and dog. Yet, the worst was to come.

Walking up the stairs, he met with the servant, Yuuto, who nodded towards him as they passed each other. The look on the man's face was solemn and he nodded towards Kazuro. A bad sign, Yuuto rarely showed emotions to begin with .Sighing, Kazuro walked into the room and was met with the sight of princess Asuna sitting by the table, her arms folded on the table in front of her and her posture sagging.

"Your highness." he said quietly, coming up to Asuna. The princess looked back at him, her eyes red from crying. Kazuro didn't even dare to think of what she was going through right now. Yet... Takeda was right, she had to get it together, otherwise the morale of the men would remain shot to hell. Their princess, their messiah, could give them courage again. But not now, not like she was now. "Can I do anything for you?" he asked, feeling a sense of despair.

His princess, his brave, fierce warrior princess, was brought down to this. Kazuro hadn't seen her like this ever before, knowing only the courageous and passionate young girl with that dry sense of humor who had been the heart and soul of the resistance for three years. To see her like this... it hurt.

"Can you undo this day?" Asuna asked acidly, having turned back to stare into the air. Kazuro flinched.

"I wish I could." he said, the mood being so far beyond what his usual sensual attitude could help. Asuna gave up a shivering sigh, leaning against the back and wrapping her arms around her. She seemed to freeze.

"Kazuro..." she said now, speaking without titles and honorifics and making Kazuro's stomach knot itself from the anxiety. "What the hell are we going to do? They slaughtered us... we threw all we had at them and it was just a god damn snack! Can we even win this?"

"All we can do is fight." Kazuro said, cursing himself mentally for the platitudes he was spewing. "We are with you, now and until the end." he ended up kneeling by her side. Asuna didn't seem like it helped and Kazuro wished so badly he knew more about this type of situation. Damn it... why had Takamichi had to die, that man would have known what to do.

"Help me..." Asuna whispered now, Kazuro looking up in shock at his princess. Asuna had started to shiver, gritting her teeth as a fearful look came over her face. "I think I'm falling apart... all this is driving me insane... I can't stop thinking about it but if I do... I'm going to end up killing myself."

"Your highness." Kazuro felt his stomach churn and got up. What was he going to do? Should he call for the high seer? Haengr might know what to do, Kazuro knew he had done something like that before. The paladin had been about to call for Yuuto to fetch the man when Asuna reached out and grabbed hold of him.

"Please..." she whispered. "stay with me... give me something else to think about. Otherwise I won't get through this night without killing myself." Kazuro nearly flinched, feeling the princess' trembling hand. Looking at the girl who now clung to him, he found himself beset by a storm of emotions.

He loved his princess, loved and honored her. He knew she was beautiful and she had her effect on him. Yet never before had he allowed himself to think of her in that way. It was not for him to be that, no matter what the cliches said. Yet now... she begged him to be with her. Kazuro's stomach was filled with butterflies and his heart had skipped a beat several times now. Sweat started to break out on his forehead, he didn't know what to do.

"Your highness..." he begun, feeling how she flinched. "Asuna." he amended. The girl looked up at him and all of a sudden the princess melted away, leaving only the girl, the hurting, despairing girl. She looked at him with teary eyes and Kazuro's resistance melted away. He reached in, slowly and hesitantly kissing her. Asuna's response overwhelmed him, she threw herself at him, kissing him fervently, desperately.

Kazuro was a man who had a lot of experience in love. It was a stereotype all feline-like twinbloods lived with, that of sensuality and promiscuity. He had taken it to heart however, enjoying it for what it was. Yet now, as he embraced and kissed the woman he had sworn his entire being to, it all took on a whole new dimension. He could feel her uncertainty, her clumsiness, and it only spurred him to preform even better. It suddenly became his duty, to make her unable to think of what had transpired today, and he'd do it to the fullest extent of his abilities.

And thus he did, from that moment on Asuna didn't find time to think of the horrible events of the day. They were wiped away by her paladin as he, step by step, tore away the grief clogging up her mind through his caresses, his kisses and his thrusting. Normally, it would have been something Asuna would have considered mind-blowing, as it stood however, it was life-saving. The waves of explosive passion that wiped away her sorrow gave her a way to survive and in the end, when she fell asleep hours later, it was with a look of peace on her face.

By the bedside, however, Kazuro sat with his legs off the bed and his face buried in his hands. Asuna hadn't been the only one consumed by it, yet Kazuro found himself hit by the passionate onslaught in a wholly different way. Looking back at the now sleeping princess, he found himself gritting his teeth and raggedly breathing as forbidden emotions arose in him.

* * *

Asuna slowly awoke from her sleep, opening her eyes and being treated to the sight of the roof above her. Lying there, she remembered the events of yesterday. The pain returned, yet she could manage it, if only just. Thinking back of last night, she wasn't quite sure of what had happened. She had some kind of unclear memory of Kazuro coming to her and... and sleeping with her?

It had to have been a dream. She couldn't even remember clearly, it was blurred, whether it had been by depression or sleep she felt like it just as well could have been a thought morphing into a fix idea or a dream. She didn't see him lying beside her at least. Slowly shaking her head, she pushed herself off the bed and focused ahead.

She could think at least, that was always something. In the situation they were now, temple-deep in shit, she'd need her wits. She got up, got dressed, threw down some breakfast and told Yuuto to summon the others. Takeda, Kazuro and Kurt, they were the only ones still alive. Takahata-sensei, Kotaro, Konoka and Setsuna, they were all gone... the stab in her heart almost made her gasp.

She shook her head however, turning her mind back to the present trying to think of a solution. There'd be time to cry later. Now she had to focus. She was the figurehead of all this, she had to stand tall, if she didn't how could anyone else? She slammed her hand into the table, clenching it into a fist as she gritted her teeth. Grim determination was building in her.

It didn't take long for her advisers to arrive, Takeda being the fist and Kurt the last. All of them looked, bluntly put, like hell, and Asuna didn't waste any time in getting down to business. The war council was a brief affair. They didn't have many options really. Also: Takeda had already orchestrated the defence enough that there were only one or two issues that needed to be addressed. Asuna had already made her call on those things even, they had been easy to figure out. That didn't mean they were popular with the others however.

"Your highness, I beg you to reconsider!" Kurt shouted, standing up in his seat. The man had a shocked look on his face, all three of them had gotten it after having heard what she was planning. Asuna was adamant however.

"I won't." she said. "This is how we'll do it and if you don't like it you're free to leave." she met his desperate eyes with a pair of ice cold ones. "Any other objections?" she added with an icy voice. Kazuro and Takeda didn't say a word in protest however.

"By your will." Takeda said gently, bowing his head.

"Your wish is my command, your goals mine." Kazuro said. Asuna nodded.

"How soon can we have Othila evacuated?" she continued now, Takeda pursing his lips.

"Most of the transports are busy fortifying the mountains, the few that are available need severe repairs."

"Let's use the warships." Asuna said, "clear up all space you can in them and have them start as soon as possible. How long will that take?"

"A few weeks." Takeda said as he rubbed his chin. "somewhere around twenty to thirty days if I have to make any closer estimates."

"That'll rob us of our airborne assets when the enemy comes." Kazuro pointed out.

"Airborne assets that at most will be painful bee-stings to the enemy." Kurt remarked. He still seemed in shock but could be coherent. "Before they get far enough into the mountains that we have them deep amongst the ridges they'd be of limited use at best. It's the best option."

"Deal." Asuna said, "Also, Kurt?"

"Yes your highness?" the man asked.

"You're going with the evacuees, if anyone can form a resistance in exile it's you."

"What?" now Kurt stood up, slamming his hands into the table in anger. Asuna remained calm however

"Yeah you heard me." she said. "That's your orders." Kurt only stared at her however.

"No." he said, almost absently. "I'm not leaving, my place is here. I'm not leaving you to die a..." he trailed off now, having been building up to shouting against before his voice died.

"Leave a...?" Asuna asked, steel in her eyes. "Again?" she continued after Kurt did not say anything. "I'm not my sister Kurt." she said now, the shinmeiryuu swordsman flinching as if he had been slapped in the face. "Arika died thirteen years ago, I'm not she and I won't her for you." Asuna had remembered several months ago something that had shocked her. While still a child, she had at one point gone to play with her older sister. However, she had heard someone inside the room and when she peeked in she had seen something that had made sense only to her now, years later. She had seen Arika and Kurt hug each other, the two being totally consumed with kissing each other. Asuna the child hadn't understood it, Asuna the young woman had. After that, so much of what Kurt did had taken on a wholly new meaning. In this war, had he been in it for the same of Vespertatia? Probably not, by all accounts he had to be in this for the sake of revenge upon those who took Arika from him. And what was Asuna in that game? The figurehead to hold the resistance together, a chance to get Arika back in one way? Asuna had her evidence now she supposed and she drove it home with all she had.

"I am Asuna, not Arika, because she is dead." she said, watching Kurt suddenly tremble. She nailed her gaze to his, refusing to break eye contact. "And I'm sending you with the refugees so you can continue the fight to avenge her. Got it?"

Kurt stood still, cold sweat had broken out on the man's face and he refused to look at Asuna for a while. The shame on his face was evident and it took him nearly a full minute before could speak again.

"You..." he begun, his voice cracking. "You may not be your sister, yet right now, you were like her in every inch." he looked up, actually smiling sadly. "I shall set out first thing tomorrow." he continued, "The resistance will continued, to my dying breath and beyond." with that, the man bowed deeply, turned around, picking up the shreds of his dignity and exiting in a way that mended much of it.

Turning back to her other two advisers, Asuna saw the respect in their eyes. It was easy to tell she had impressed them there, Asuna however just wanted to puke. She leaned back and spoke up with a tired voice.

"That's it I guess." she muttered. "You can leave now Takeda. I guess you have a lot to do."

"Thank you your highness." Takeda said and got up. The man hobbled out, saluted by the door and left him too. Only Kazuro was left now, the man having raised an eyebrow. Asuna sighed, wondering how the hell she would put this.

"This will be a strange question." she begun. "But did anything happen last night?" she simply put it out there, hoping it would work out. Kazuro looked at her with both eyebrows raised now.

"Your highness?" he asked with a surprised voice. Asuna felt how she started to blush.

"Just answer me." she said tersely, "I was so depressed yesterday I couldn't think straight, what happened?"

"You asked for me to stay with you." Kazuro revealed and Asuna felt it almost like a punch in the gut. "You needed company and I sat by your side until you fell asleep." the man continued, Asuna feeling the relief flood her. Oh thank sol... she hadn't done anything. If she had really done it, forcing him to sleep with her, she didn't know if she could have forgiven herself. "How so, your highness?" Kazuro asked, Asuna shaking her head.

"Never mind." she said, waving her hand dismissively as she tried to conceal her relief.

"Oh I see..." Kazuro said now, his voice sliding into that purring, sensual tone he liked to use. Asuna stiffened as she saw a wry smile form on his face. "Why your highness, you DO know that if you desire, you are in your full right to call upon my services in such a way." he said, his voice like honey as he leaned forwards, baring some of his teeth in a grin. "If such is your desire, merely give the call and I will be eager to please." Asuna groaned now and sent him out of the room, closing the door personally. That total clown! A situation like this and he was going around like that? Yet, she couldn't stop it as a small wave of laughter came over her, making her tremble a bit as she had to choke it.

What she didn't know, was that on the other side of the door Kazuro trembled as well, not in laughter though but despair. The man hid his face in his hands, knowing full well that he had to do it. Her highness couldn't afford to have her thoughts divided now. Yet it hurt, for the young paladin, who for the first time in so many years had felt actual love, giving it up hurt so much.

* * *

Atop the giant pyramid Nagi groaned as he slowly rolled over on his back, feeling the pain tear through him, the pain that nowadays was a well known friend of his. The cold stone floor beneath him did little to dampen the pain the countless cuts across his body had caused, instead the faint layer of dust on it only made he wounds burn even more. Wearing only a worn pair of trousers, he shivered in the damp evening air of the jungle that covered the world around him. Looking up, he saw Evangeline's towering silk-clothed, figure, above him. She smiled at him, had done so almost constantly for three years. Three years... three years of constant pain, being hunted, fear, desperation, helplessness. Nagi figured he should be used to it after all those years in the netherworld, yet he wasn't.

As Evangeline lowered herself over him, ending up straddling him, he looked numbly up into the sky. The only reason he even knew it was three years was that Evangeline had taken a sickening pleasure in telling him just how much time that had passed. The immortal vampiress was currently grinding herself against him, Nagi feeling his god damn hormones act up again. Before this he never had thought that women could rape men... now he was thoroughly convinced of the opposite.

"What's with the lack of enthusiasm, thousand master." Evangeline purred as she stroked her fingers along his bloodied torso, licking her fingers to taste his blood. She loved that taste it seemed, she drained him constantly. The worst part about that was the sexualized way in which she did it, her hundreds of years of knowledge and skill along with the sheer, animal pleasure of being drained made this the worst of all. She whipped him into a frenzy, sucked him dry and left him trembling in fear and disgust as he for a short while came to feel as if being there was the only thing he ever wanted. She destroyed his human side and left only devouring lusts in its wake, nothing but animal cravings, before it all ended and he was dragged back to reality where the disgust he came to feel at himself made him want to puke. "Having a bad day?" Evangeline asked as she raked her long nails along his chest, carving bloody trails in them.

Nagi didn't answer. He had long since learned that it was for the best to lie still and wait for it to end. There was nothing, nothing at all, he could do. He therefore didn't say anything, just lay there. Evangeline's mocking laughter rung in his ears, the beautiful undead woman bared her fangs at him and lowered herself to let her teeth run along his neck. The mere touch of the fangs to his neck made him moan, his body trembling in eagerness. Evangeline pulled back however, licking her lips as she teased him.

Thus it continued, a sickening torture with lust and animal cravings as the instruments. It all floated together into one mess of emotions and sensations culminating in a tidal wave of pleasure as she finally sunk her fangs into his throat and sucked him dry. The explosion wiped away everything human in him, leaving only a screaming, lusting animal thinking of nothing, caring for nothing, perceiving nothing but lusts and their satiation.

Some undefined time later Evangeline had gotten off him and was walking out to look out from the giant pyramid to which she dragged him every time she caught him. She stretched, seemingly glowing with delight over the shivering wreck behind her. Nagi could barely notice when she turned back to look at him.

"Asuna will die soon." she told him, Nagi not reacting. "She gambled all in that war of hers and lost. Now her enemies are closing in on her with overwhelming force. She'll never get away." Evangeline continued as she walked up to him, using her threads to raise him off the ground and hover him in front of her. She gently cupped his chin and looked straight into his eyes. "Takamichi died," she said, "Konoe Konoka and her samurai as well along with the dog boy your son had befriended." Her smile was cruel and Nagi felt despair. He wasn't stupid or dead, he knew he had to do something. But what? His magic was sealed, his powerful body weakened. He had tried everything and no matter what, how thoroughly or carefully he did it, he couldn't escape this woman. "Isn't it delightful, thousand master," Evangeline asked now as she licked a rivulet of blood off his cheek. "that while you lie here, soiling your pants, the last thing remaining of your son, the thing he was ready to give everything for, will vanish?"

Nagi was just about to act, to try to fight back, but the fear that had settled in his soul towards her made him stop. He was exhausted, terrified and broken, he didn't even want it to end, wanting made it all hurt more. Instead he just looked away. A taunting laughter came from Evangeline and she dropped him onto the floor and called for her robot maid.

"Dump him in the sewers." she said, "I have plans for him tomorrow."

"Yes mistress." the robotic, emotionless gynoid said as she picked him him and dragged him down the stairs and into the basement of the pyramid. Nagi was all to used to the stairs now and soon found himself chained to one of the walls of a deep hole in the ground filled with water up to his knees. He slouched down, sitting down in the tepid water and staring off into nowhere. When Chachamaru left he didn't see it, instead he merely stared into the water, the single small source of light coming from above illuminating the water just enough that he could see his reflection.

He was broken, old, worn and helpless. The once mightiest of all wizards was now a broken husk. Slowly reaching up to clutch his head, the thousand master groaned, knowing he could do nothing.

* * *

In the depths of the Pyriths something stirred. On a high peak, beyond what even the bergafolk could reach, shadows flickered on the sun-lit snow covering the peak. The shadows, twisted and shapeless, danced across the snow, Slow, whispering sounds could be heard in the air as the shadows started to crawl down the mountain. Moving down the mountains, the shadows twisted around each other, moving together and coalescing into the likeness of something ancient, something terrifying clawing, scratching it's way down the mountain. In the valley below the animals of the mountains looked up towards the mountain as the thing came crawling down towards them. Fear gripped their hearts, from the sedate and calm viskaren to the mighty mullras, every last of the Pyrith beasts fled, fleeing as fast as they possibly could from the thing crawling down the mountain.

They were wise to do that, the flocks of birds that took to the sky and the countless animals running along the ground all escaped the horrifying fate awaiting the forest below. The thing that came down the mountains scratched at the forest, it's shadowy claws tearing into the undergrowth and leaving rot and death in it's wake. It was a sickening, horrible spectacle that took place in the valley now as the thing tore into the forest, consuming seemingly it's very life as giant jaws appeared across the shadowy ground. Even as it remained two-dimensional anyone who would have been unfortunate enough to witness it would have spoken of gnashing maws, flailing grasping hands and sickening sounds coming from the valley.

This horrifying thing keps up its feast, devouring all that lived in the valley, even it tried desperately to escape as was the case with the slower insects living on the ground. Nothing remained in it's wake except for brown, rotting leaves and pins, drooping, oily branches and the dried corpses of whatever hadn't been able to escape. The shadow only got more and more bloated, in the end covering all things and drenching the valley in a deep, terrifying darkness.

Then something stirred inside it. Things begun to move inside the now dead and rotting forest, shadowing figures stepping out behind trees, from small fissures in the ground where the shadow's claws had raped it, from beneath the roots of the dead trees. They came from everywhere, seemingly humanoid yet their arms were too long or their proportions were off or they had long claws or their eyes glowed. Not one of the things down there could be truly human, it was impossible. They only increased in number, more and more, until over a hundred of the things stood amongst the murdered trees, each of them radiating a terrifying, rapacious darkness that just wanted to swallow anything that came close.

"They have come again." a voice said, crackling like hungry fire. It echoed through the forest, being heard by all things there.

"They have, they are here." voices echoed the figure's sentiment, gibbering in loose phrases. "Those, they, the ones."

"The ones... Their goals are as simple as always." another voice said, this one a serpentine whisper "Hunger, greed, lie, they cannot live without it." Laughter echoed in the forest, the figures finding something amusing in it.

"Hungry beasts, hungry things, hungerhungerhungerhunger!"

"Bloated and yet starving, pah!" A third figure said with a voice like a growling monster, "the very earth spits on their passing."

"Spit! Lash! The whip shall rend them, blood them, make them scream." A wild, female laughter echoed through the forest now.

"We shall bleed them." a voice said, this one human. It was female in fact, many would have called it beautiful. The things in the forest all turned to look towards the ragged, long-haired figure that stepped out into a small clearing. "Their dishonour is their existence, they shall all be put to the test. Let us all bloat ourselves upon their blood. As kampherre Mane ordered us to we shall devour the weaklings. They have entered these mountains and shall be put to the test. A thousand lives in his name, a thousand deaths by his hands!" the woman suddenly shrieked. Her howl echoing through the forest.

"A thousand lives in his name, a thousand deaths by his hands!" the other figures howled as well. A sudden crescendo of insane howls came from the forest, echoed through the valley and between the mountains. The druids of the bergafolk, the terrifying bogeymen of the Pyriths, howled with inhuman voices, crying out their blood-thirst and their rapacious hunger.

* * *

Senator Ricardo slammed the doors open, walking into the council chamber with anger written all over his face. The sound of the slamming doors echoes through the chamber, summoning the collected attention of all the present senators in the room. Ricardo noticed, with anger that almost made him choke, that every last one of the bastards in the room were progressives, there were not one representative of the reformist party in the room!

"Senator Ricardo..." the spokesman said with a slow drawl. "We are honoured by your presence, however loudly it is announced."

"What is the meaning of this!" Ricardo roared, managing to silence the entire room. He started down the aisle, his shoes pounding against the ground. "You cowardly little..." he growled, "Are you going to piss all over the constitution as well now? What the hells do you think you're doing?"

"Gathering for an emergency session, as per the rules laid down in the seventy-fifth section, third amendment of the constitutions." the man said calmly. "As was declared in the summons sent out to all senators." Ricardo nearly exploded now. That son of a syphilitic whore!

"Summons my ass!." he hissed through bared teeth. "You think I'm an idiot!" tearing out the crumpled up, reeking note he had found shoved in the letterbox of his office. "emergensy senet meeteegn tomorow noon?" he read out loudly from the note, his voice filled with equally much contempt and disbelief. "Have you sunken low enough to resort to this kind of bullshit?" he yelled, the spokesman giving him a smug smile.

"The senate seal is there." he said calmly, "Written in invisible ink of course, a security measure. We cannot be held accountable for some senators do not do basic investigation of their correspondence:"

"Are you kidding me!" Ricardo roared. He couldn't believe this, what in the names of all unspeakable entities was this? Were they out of their minds? "I demand the floor!" he roared, stepping up towards the speaker's pulpit. Thankfully he had told Gerald to contact the other reformists. It was an ugly trick, but if he kept himself at the pulpit he could delay these lunatics. He'd have to talk about whatever he could, draw it out until he could get the others here. This was insane! It was like an academy fraternity joke rather than the senate!

"No." the speaker said mildly, Ricardo freezing as two figures appeared behind him. His senses were that sharp still. The Senatorial Praetorian Guards! "Judging from the reformists absence in these dark days the facts are clear. You are hereby arrested and your Senatorial status revoked. The Reformist party is hereby outlawed and its representatives are to be considered enemies of the Megalomesembric state!" with that, the speaker pounded his fist into the table, the progressives filling the room all starting to applaud.

Ricardo saw red, his fists clenched and he suddenly found that he had taken a step forwards. Rage suddenly flooded him, shoving fire into his heart and veins. The disbelief didn't stop him as he took another step forwards, fully intent on beating the man unconscious. When mailed arms grabbed hold of him he barely even registered it, the anger in him made the two, heavy elite guards' attempts to stop him.

"You filthy pieces of shit..." Ricardo growled, continuing to advance on the speaker. The man was starting to pale, seeing how the former fleet officer kept coming at him despite the two heavily armed guards trying to hold him back. The air had started to tremble around the man and the anger was almost palpable. More guards ended up rushing forth, trying to restrain the man. Four, six, in the end eight guards were pulling at Ricardo, the man first now being unable to move forwards.

"You treasonous whoresons!" Ricardo roared with a voice that echoed in the room, only the combined efforts of eight elite soldiers able to slowly pull and push him towards the exit. "Is this how it's going to be? You'll rip apart our democracy for a tainted dictatorship! You won't succeed with this, you power-hungry tyrants!" he struggled against the guards as they forced his hands behind his back, each arm needing two men pulling at it to be controlled, and put heavy, rune-covered handcuffs on his wrists. "The people will never stand for this!" he continued, his face red with anger "If you think they'll roll over and accept you reducing them to serfs you've got another thing coming! You, will, fail! Just like all tyrants who's tried to subjugate Mega! You and your lackeys in the eighty-first! You, will, fail!" he spoke the last words just as he was dragged out of the room, the door slamming shut right in his face. Stopping for a second in his struggling, he snarled before tearing away from the guards. He didn't move though, only got them off him.

"I can walk on my own!" he roared at them just as they moved to try to capture him again. With his face filled with seething yet restrained anger, he stood tall and unmoving. The guards eventually letting go of him somewhat.

"This way sir..." one of them said, Ricardo looking at him in disgust. The very force he had commanded was now dragging him off to jail and for what! Opposing a punch of corrupt power-mongers who would rather break down the entire foundation of Megalomesembria's ruling body than to have anyone oppose them! Taking a deep breath, Ricardo was as disgusted with the progressives as any human could be. This was a joke! Would they truly go this far, trample over this many principles and lives! Walking down the hallway, escorted by the guards, four on each side, he tried to think.

Attacking the problem from all directions he could, he never the less couldn't see a way this would end well. With a full offensive that was taking catastrophic losses in Vespertatia, a society what was starting to break at the seams, nationalist militias forming in the fringes of the nation, pogroms against foreign-born citizens who in retaliation more and more armed themselves and formed their own militias, a god damn civil war on the horizon! And they did this! How detached from reality could they be!

He remained silent as they got down to the security wing and the garage there. Ricardo knew resisting was pointless, the cuffs he wore made him powerless, there was no magic in him to use as it was. He gritted his teeth in frustration as they came into the large, open space in which several shuttles were parked. The opening out towards the aerial lanes revealed a grey, overcast sky and a cold, rainy world. It suited the mood at least...

So caught up in his anger was Ricardo that he almost failed to notice that one of his escorts turned towards the control room and made a gesture with his right hand. A few seconds later a drawn-out hiss went through the hangar and Ricardo blinked as the security cameras stopped moving. The guard turned to him and reached into his armour, Ricardo almost taking a step backwards. He had thought the man was going to pull out a knife or something such, at this moment he hadn't been surprised if the progressives had ordered that. Yet instead, the man pulled out keys.

"The cuffs will be off in a second sir." the man said as he unlocked Ricardo's cuffs and freed him. The rest of the guards stepped back now, clearing the way for him to one end of the hangar where Ricardo to his surprise saw his shuttle stand parked. Ricardo massaged his wrists and looked at the man with a surprised and humbled look on his face. He had not expected this, not at all.

"You're taking a great risk soldier, still, thank you" he said respectfully. He was shocked and overjoyed both. The soldier removed his helmet and Ricardo was treated to the sight of a heavy jawline, neck like a bull and and red skin.

"If it stops the same kind of ultranationalist shits that torched my uncle's bar from take over it's worth it" he said. "We took our oaths to defend the nation, not watch it descend into tyranny."

"If we can save our nation, it'll be because of men like you soldier." Ricardo saluted him. "You are an honour to the Praetorians." he said, the man straightening up and returning the salute.

"Thank you sir." he said. "I don't know what awaits but this won't end peacefully. When it breaks down, fifth guards platoon is on your side." Ricardo swallowed, realizing what the man was saying. An entire platoon of Praetorian guards, the men meant to be the single most loyal soldiers in Megalomesembria, was currently declaring themselves ready to commit high treason. Damn things were shitty. He nodded towards the man and hurriedly got into the shuttle. A flick of his wrist pushed the carkey into the power slot, making the vehicle start up with a whirring sound.

Shooting out of the hangar, he fished up his cell-phone and dialled Gerald's number. They had to get the rest of the reformists the hell out of dodge and they had to do it now. As he zoomed along the streets of the capitol he felt a sinking feeling in his guts. What was happening to his nation?

* * *

With the "terrorist" fleet thrown back and tremendous casualties inflicted on them executor in chief Maxwell Sterning gave the order for a full scale assault into the mountains. The massive expeditionary force which had been used to set the giant ambush rolled into the Pyrith mountains, spearheaded by an entire trio of the super-weapons known as Superdreadnaughts. The Svanhvit, the Garandia and the Invicitus. Accompanying the fleet were large motherships which had been fitted with huge magic nullifiers which pacified the chaotic nature of the mountains and gave them free passage into the mountains they previously had been unable to control or even more through properly. Finally, after 13 years, the Megalomesembrians threw their full weight into the mountains, no longer hindered by the wild magic.

Yet did that help them? Barely, hardly. For this time they faced not disorganized and surprised tribal warriors. They faced a dug-in and well equipped army of battle hardened fanatics. Confined to the valleys and the mountain passes, the Megalomesembrians were hammered fiercely day and night by artillery fire coming from the other sides of the mountains and entered killzone after killzone. Ferocious counter attacks from all directions caused severe casualties and the warfare became constant. The Vespertatians resisted every last inch of the way into the mountains. Even if the mundane artillery shells were easily blocked by the shields of the ships, even with the runes, the sheer focusing of the firepower and the constant barraging meant that in the end the shields of many of the smaller ships were torn to shreds, leaving them wide open to the descending shells.

The casualties soon mounted, artillery, counter attacks, nigh-suicidal boarding actions where the boarding parties blew apart the engines and anti-grav buoys of the ships, mines, it became a pandemonium not seen since the schismatic war. The Vespertatians were like wild beasts on the battlefield, fearless, aggressive in attack and stubborn in defence. What once had been a parade victory for the Megalomesembrians now became a pitched meat grinder where the smallest gain in terrain had a terrible price.

Yet even worse was the bergafolk. The savage mountain tribes did not only fight their enemies physically, but also mentally. All sense and humanity went out of the window as the tattooed tribal warriors slowly and steadily ground away at their enemies' very souls. Terror bombings, raids on medical evacuation ships, mutilation of corpses, execution of captured soldiers in plain sight of their comrades, howling warcries that sent shivers down the spines of the Megalomesembrians. In every way conceivably possible the invading forces became aware of how dire a price would be demanded from them. They had only one way to survive, to stay utterly alert at all times, the savages seemed to be able to smell those who relaxed and pounced immediately. The front ended up spread so wide that the usual maxim of three weeks of combat, one week of rest, became impossible. Four weeks, six weeks, nine weeks, the Megalomesembrians were not given one minute of rest as the days and weeks ticked by, more and more of the men starting to show clear signs of the traumatic war driving them over the edge.

Then came the druids.

From the depths of the pyriths man's nightmares they came, the nightmares of men given form and let loose. They struck without warning, without mercy and without humanity. Entire sections of the front could drop off the grid and only desperate, nearly inhuman shrieks for help, for salvation, even for their mothers, would reach the others. When reinforcements came they all too often only found ghost ships, filled with blood, death, violently insane survivors and monstrous abominations. In the end, entire units could end up mentally breaking, blindly refusing to advance

Yet they still pushed on, despite the mental strain, the horrific losses and the fierce resistance the Megalomesembrians kept pushing. New forces were constantly called from the homeland to reinforce the line, high command had turned seemingly insane as well, only the manic desire to clear out the mountains remained. And as villages were razed, ambushes and counter attacks destroyed, ship after ship of the Vespertatian fleet blown out of the sky, druid after druid hunted down and slain by Praetorian task forces, they did.

The sheer weight of their fleet and their army would not be denied. They blasted themselves forwards by sheer, raw, fire power and resilience. Nothing could stop them and after three months of savage, relentless warfare, the mountains above Othila was shaking as the Megalomesembrians hammered their way into the hidden city, blasting the very mountain range to pieces to make their way into it. Eventually it seemed as through a large part of an entire mountain detonated. Debris rained down over the city where large parts of the last surviving bergafolk and Vespertatians had dug in to make their last stand. The flagship of the Megalomesembric fleet, the Svanhvit, tore itself out of the giant dustcloud that had formed and the instant it came out of it it begun to fire, swarms of lance riders and landing craft shooting out of its hold as the sky was filled with explosions, energy beams and flying shells. Ground units were deployed, terrorist strongpoints bombarded, buildings razed, chaos created.

Othila was torn apart as savage warfare ripped through it.


	22. A twist in fate

Chapter 22: A twist in fate

* * *

The city burned around them, lit ablaze by spells and explosions, torn asunder by cannons both magical and mundane, echoing with the cries of the fighting and the dying, with explosions, gunfire, the sizzling of spells and the howling of airships above them. It was a pandemonium of chaos and destruction, bodies of both terrorists and Megalomesembrians littering the rubble-covered streets. Bathing in the light of the setting sun radiating through mist, dust and smoke, it became like an image of the hell of war, smoke, dust and destruction.

Once this city must have been beautiful, now it was devastated. As Jason Banner, lieutenant in the Megalomesembrian Guards Division, the Preatorians, moved up the stairs of the large step-pyramid in the middle of the city he turned around and looked out across it. Even through his heavy, now torn and bloody helmet, with the city burning beneath them, he was amazed by how beautiful it was. The fighting seemed to have started to die off, they hadn't come across any hostiles in several minutes even as they advanced towards the top of the pyramid, a place apparently holy to these people. This had brought him somewhat out of the mindset he was in but he turned back, saddling up mentally and keeping up his advance.

He should feel delighted. After months of bloody, relentless and savage warfare they were soon there. Claiming the figurehead of the insurgents would make this entire uprising wither and peace would at last come to this country. After over a decade it'd be over and the Vespertatians would have peace at last. That, and he could go home after years of constant warring. Jason saw that the third level of the pyramid has been strafed by lance-riders, the insurgents here were massacred and lay scattered over the ground, dead and maimed.

"Keep moving!" he barked, the platoon of Praetorians under his command stepping over the bodies and making their way up to the last tier and the temple there. He didn't know what would come now, only that whatever awaited would most probably involve fighting. They shouldn't be here just them either way, they should have waited for backup or support but high command had been clear as water on what their orders were, keep pushing at the enemy, everything they had done thus far would be in vain if their leader slipped through the net now.

Climbing the final staircase they came upon the sealed door of the temple. Giant stone doors, easily ten meters high, could be seen in front of them and in front of them a single person stood. He was one of the insurgent elites, one of the so called "royal guards", and he stood leaning on a heavy glaive, his once shining armour covered in blood and scrapes, some parts were torn apart. He panted and was obviously exhausted. The full platoon of slayers lying around him, however, were clearly dead. Megalomesembria's finest, the elite praetorians each deadly enough to fight a dragon, were all dead, from the looks of it he was single-handedly responsible for it. The tiger-armoured man currently pushing himself to stand upright as he saw them had gone through the men around him like a scythe, several of the dead were cut in two and the area around them was devastated.

"You... just won't give up will you?" the man said, his voice hoarse and tired as he shifted the weight from his glaive and raised it. Behind him Jason's men spread out.

"Stand down!" Jaon commanded. "It's over, you've lost!" the man only spat however.

"Never." he snarled, his eyes glowing from within his helmet. "I... am her highness' chosen...her Paladin... you... won't touch her as long as I live!" Jason gritted his teeth as the man attacked them. He moved with speed and power, even at his exhaustion, and it was only by the barest margins that Jason managed to push himself to move, blocking the man's attack and feeling his teeth rattle before he wove his most powerful stun spell which hit the man point blank, knocking him out and sending him falling to the ground. Twirling his halberd around, Jason stepped forwards and drove the head into the man's chest, killing him with one blow.

"Prepare to breach those doors, this ends now!" he yelled as he pulled out the blade. Looking down at the fallen man, he felt a surge of anger. Once again he had been faced with the disgusting situation they were in.

Thirteen years ago he had thought it great that Megalomesembria had taken control in Vespertatia when the nation's insane rulers had unleashed a demon army upon their own people rather than surrender. He loved Vespertatians, as a child he had spent several summers in Ostia and loved the people. Yet the loss of their royal house, however corrupt and insane it had been, had broken them. Whatever dark organisation was behind this impostor princess Jason had seen what it had done to the people. The Vespertatians had turned from a kind and loving people to fanatic beasts, doing anything to please the impostor princess. The peacekeeper forces had been attacked to the level that they had to do a full military lockdown of the nation. With this the praetorians had come and with them Jason. He, who had trained to meet enemy elite armies, found himself chasing shadows and ghosts across the nation as he fought a people he and Megalomesembria itself only wanted to help.

Jason was a professional, he had been in the praetorians for six years and kept his cool. Yet, at this time he'd love to tear this fake down from the throne, show the Vespertatian people the lie they had been subjected to and hopefully stop any more bloodshed. But for this imposter bitch that was waiting inside he had a world of pain to give.

"Ready!" he commanded and his men took up positions in front of the door. "Breach!" they all fired their attack spells at the doors, breaching them with a loud crack like thunder. Within seconds they had all dashed inside, forming a semi-circle inside the giant temple with shields raised and halberds high. Looking around, they saw that the temple was seemingly totally empty bar for one single figure far inside it. The temple was dark, pith dozens of pillars supporting the roof which could hide any number of hidden enemies, and the only lights inside were from several large oil lamps and the now broken door. The figure far inside was kneeling in front of the altar at the end of the giant room they were in now. It seemed as though she was praying.

Jason realized something as he looked around. Already in here the sounds of outside seemed to die away. It was probably some spell doing it, yet the effect was no less disquieting. The figure hadn't even looked back at them now and Jason made a mental command for his men to weave spells checking for hiding people. There was nothing however. He motioned for his men to follow and they started approaching the kneeling figure. Apprehension built in them, there was something unsettling about how calm the girl now only a dozen meters from them was. She hadn't looked at them even now.

"Kagurazaka Asuna!" Jason yelled, knowing the impostor's real name. "You are..."

"Please..." the girl said, her voice was soft, yet it carried such weight. Jason found himself shocked to silence by the sheer majesty in her voice. "You are in a holy place, lower your voice." Jason found himself gob-smacked by her sheer audacity. At the very end, when it all was over, she merely told him to quiet down. Trying to regain his composure he spoke up again. This time he was, however, not as loud.

"Kagurazaka Asuna." he begun again. "By order of executor-in-chief Maxwell Sterning you are hereby under arrest for..."

"By his order." Asuna said, standing up now. She still faced the altar but turned her head to look back at him. The lieutenant realized just how beautiful she was. Even now, in the hour of defeat, she stood with dignity and pride. She had lost all, but she hadn't lost her pride. She seemed to almost pity him. "And you? Who are you?" she asked

"Banner..." Jason felt almost afraid now. "Lieutenant Jason Banner of the."

"A lieutenant?" Asuna asked now, turning around to face him fully. She seemed like she was laughing internally now. "You stand here, at the end of this war, you have cornered me, and the one sent in to capture me is a simple sub-officer? How much of a coward is your executor?"

"It's over Kagurazaka, you lost!" Jason snapped, Asuna shrugging.

"Did I?" Asuna asked. "Perhaps I did, it seems like that. But if I did, who won? You? Who have lost tens of thousands of lives fighting to get here? The countless widows, children and parents back in your homeland who has to bury their loved ones now? Or perhaps the cowards who sent you here to die, spilling your blood like water for their own gain?" Jason felt it almost like a stab to the gut. More and more during these years the official story trumpeted constantly to the soldiers had seemed to hold less and less water. He couldn't deny that, and this woman hit him in that precise spot. Asuna begun to walk. She approached him, walking in a semi-circle towards him.

"This isn't over." she said after a while stopping only meters from him. "It's never over. Vespertatia is ours, we'll never stop fighting for it. All the deaths you've caused to get here, all the destruction, it was pointless. The sole reason you're here is because that executor of yours wants you to capture me. He doesn't dare to make a martyr out of me, he had to make sure I lived. Dozens of ships blown out of the sky, thousands of soldiers dead. And all so you can save my life? Tell me, does that sound like a victory to you Lieutenant Banner?" the men around him were trembling with anger now and Jason had to bit down on his tongue for a second to calm down. She was pushing every last of his buttons.

"Call it whatever you want!" he growled, "The war is over, you have nothing left and you will pay for what you have done!" he reminded himself why he was here. This bitch had caused hundreds of thousands of deaths!

"And what did I do?" Asuna asked, her eyes narrowing and her voice becoming steel. "Not accept my people being subjugated, humiliated and enslaved? Not lie down and die when you found no more use for me? Not allowing your countless atrocities to go unpunished? This victory of yours is meaningless! We've made you devote ten times more time and pay with a hundred times as many lives as when you took this nation." she scoffed now "Call it a victory if you want to, you lost this war the moment you went into the mountains. What was is you called us, savages and cowards? Well the very same people made you pay like this, your facade of invincibility will never recover. I might die, I might be imprisoned, but you will be the ones to suffer, the losses of this time will not go unnoticed. The arrogance and greed of your nation not unpunished." the ground seemed to tremble around them, Asuna's eyes having gotten a glow in them. Her sheer presence pressed down on them.

"My people might not become free but tell me," she hissed, her anger palpable in the air, "With nearly a third of your armed forces bogged down in these mountains, with your homeland torn apart by civil conflict, the monstrosity of your rulers revealed and the economy of your nation drained, who will come out on top in the end?" she smiled now, almost maniacally, "Because as it is, it sure won't be you. And what more." she reached into her clothes now, pulling out a long, sharp dagger. Jason's eyes widened in fear and understanding as his mental command cracked like a whip. His men all unleashed swarms of disarming and restraining spells, trying to stop her, but they all simply died when they came close to her. They weren't blocked by powerful barriers or deflected, they simply vanished. Asuna looked up at them, smiling grimly. "I will not be your puppet princess, I will be a martyr." With that, she grabbed the dagger firmly in both hands and stabbed it into her chest, piercing her heart before anyone could stop her.

Jason ended up just standing there, staring at her as she slowly fell over and landed on her back, her hands dropping from the dagger and falling out to the sides. The sound of her falling was almost imperceptible, was it the shock that did it? The young woman lay still on the floor now, like a struck-down being of the high realms she just lay there, beautiful even in death.

"Asuna!" a voice cried out behind them and Jason's platoon all turned to look towards the entrance. A man had happened in the doorway, standing in an open white robe and a gnarled staff in his hands. The light from outside obscured his features somewhat but Jason could see it clearly, his magic giving him all information he could want about the man's face and more.

Mid-length, seemingly with a slim build though it was hard to tell thanks to the robe. His hair was red and a trimmed beard covered his face. His eyes were brown and his features chiselled. Said eyes were open wide in shock, shock that soon turned to white-hot anger. Jason froze in fear, in dread even as the man bared his teeth in anger, raising his staff and starting a chant.

"Manman Teroterro!" the man snarled, Jason's dread only being fed further fire as the man's voice begun to rapidly incant in ancient Greek, the meaning clear as day to Jason. "Hurl down lightning one hundred times and even one thousand times! Thousand Thunderbolts!" Jason's last thoughts were those of confusion, of inability to understand. Why was the thousand master here? Why was he with the terrorists? He never thought any further than that, the massive spell reducing him and his entire platoon to ashes in a split second.

The entire temple building was blown to shreds, the top of the pyramid exploding and sending debris flying in all directions. The evening sky became visible from what had once been the temple and the sight above would have made Jason equally shocked if he had been alive. Over the mountaintops to the west another fleet came. Dozens of ships, black and shark-like, currently threw themselves over the peaks and descended upon the Megalomesembric fleet, swarms of bright energy bolts shooting out from them and raining down upon the Megalomesembrians. Their fire was accurate and powerful, wreaking havoc upon the already battered and exhausted Megalomsembrians.

Indeed, above their heads a spectacle not seen even during the schismatic war had broken out. The Svanhvit, pride of the Megalomsembric navy, was being attacked by a titanic dragon, a beast ancient as time and easily the same size as the Superdreadnaught. It had fangs long as a human being and serrated claws thicker than tree trunks. Its red eyes, large enough that the slits in them were as tall as a man, glowed with an inner light and from it's deep throat a roar that could shake the very ground came. The dragon had dug its claws into the thick armour, tearing out chunks of the ship with its giant jaws while beams from the lesser, side-mounted spirit cannons bounced off it without managing to penetrate the animal's thick scales.

Around it furious air jousts has broken out, the blue Megalomesebrians were being massacred by silver-armoured women who moved with a grace and skill that made their blue-clothed counterparts and now enemies seem like clumsy amateurs. Like flies the two forces swarmed around the giant fighting dragon and superdreadnaught and like flies the Megalomesembrians dropped from the sky.

The black ships' counter-offensive wasn't limited to the skies however, as the ships came in over the ruined city small figures dropped from them, falling towards the earth below them freely. With loud crashes elite soldiers in super-heavy bronze-coloured armours, horned helmets, large, round shields and long, heavy lances landed throughout the city. They moved without hesitation and with tremendous speed, advancing through the city and cutting down every Megalomesembrian they came across who did not manage to surrender first.

And in the middle of all this the Thousand Master ran towards Asuna, kneeling by the girl's side and looking at her with a horrified look on his face. The terror was evident but not the hesitation. Instead, the man acted and closed his eyes.

Far above them, on the bridge of the largest of the black ships, stood a buxom, pale-haired woman with tanned skin and two large horns curving around her head, her beautiful face was focused as she looked past the crewmen in front of her and out of the window in front of her.

"Target the motherships, break the Megalomesembric formations apart!" she commanded, the tanned, horned crewmen around her obeying instantly. She was brought to silence as a telepathic message reached her.

"_Theodora!"_ the voice cried in her head. _"Asuna's down! She's got a dagger in her heart, I need help!_" Startling, Theodora turned to one of the men beside her.

"Captain! Deploy a stasis team to the Thousand Master's location, now!" she snapped, "Ensign, get the med-bay ready and prep for a class-five wounded coming in!" She gave her orders with absolute certainty and a regal urgency to them. The two officers both obeyed in instants, only seconds after the Thousand Master had sent the telepathic transmission several bright flashes shone up around him and green-robed figures appeared where there before had been nothing.

"Get back sir!" one of them yelled and Nagi, who had been feeling Asuna's pulse, leaped out of the way. Exactly one second later an orb of energy formed around Asuna, a ring of magical energies rapidly spinning around it only to slow down and after a few, short seconds having reached a complete halt.

"_VIP secured."_ a telepathic call went out as the battle raged around them. _"Retrieve!"_ the limp body of Asuna, now frozen in temporal stasis, vanished from the orb of energy, her body re-materialising high above them, inside the largest of the black vessels, on a medical table inside a large, state of the art medical bay where healers were already waiting. Rapidly, with top-level skills and high-level magic, they went to work and Asuna was immersed in a veritable ocean of healing energies as the dagger was extracted from her heart, her blood slowed to a standstill and her body kept going with high-powered spells that supplied every single cell with oxygen as her heart no longer could do it.

Meanwhile, the Thousand Master had shot into the sky, ending up above the black fleet where a robed figure waited for him. The androgynous, ageless man looked at him.

"I take it from the explosion you found her?" Albiero asked. The look Nagi gave him made him fall silent however. The man was seething with rage, whatever he had seen it hadn't been pretty, that much Albiero could tell well.

"She's safe now." he said, forcing himself to be calm. "What's the situation on the ground, are the Vespertatians safe?"

"As we speak, the remaining pockets of resistance are being relieved. The eastern parts of the city are empty however." Now Nagi bared his teeth, anger sill blazing in his eyes.

"Good." he said, rising his staff and a second later another blast was unleashed upon the Megalomesembric ships, sending a destroyer falling from the sky and into the lake where it landed with a thunderous crash of water and steam. They had already started a retreat, a large cruiser currently was making its way through the large hole in the mountain range. However its flight was cut short as a giant sword materialized in the air. A heavy, twin-edged blade the length of the ship itself appeared seemingly out of nowhere, rising a short distance into the sky before it descended, cutting through the cruiser and impaling it against the mountain below in a terrible shriek of steel against steel. It ground to a halt in mid-air, shrieking and tearing as the steel hull was sliced through from the strain of its momentum. Above it, a giant, massively built man, easily seven feet tall, with long, blonde hair and scars covering his bare arms, grinned savagely as he spun around.

"We're not done yet!" he roared, making a grasping motion with his each hand as they reached out to the sides. In them two more swords, the same size as the first one, formed in them. They were huge, the man could only hold his hands to the sides of the massive hilts yet it was all he needed to perfectly control them. Making a forwards vault in the air as he dove towards the ship, the man brought his swords down in a cross that cleanly cut off the frontal third of the ship to the sound of a deafening, tearing sound. The cruiser fell from the sky, devastated beyond rescue.

Down on the ground, at the head of the newly arrived soldiers, a man was walking. He was tall, lithe, with short dark hair and glasses. His angular, wrinkled face could have been kind, yet now it was cold. Locked in a grimace of hate, grief and anger, he threw himself at the Megalomesembrian soldiers, a blazing katana in hand as he cut them down, not even giving them the chance to surrender. His movements were stiff from not having been used in many years, yet he was still deadly, nearly as deadly as he had been twenty years ago and he did not falter.

Upon the bridge of the Svanhvit Maxwell was standing still and quiet. With the chaos around him complete, he remained still by the bridge windows staring in horror at the armada that came down from the mountains, more and more ships leaping over the peaks. He couldn't move, being that shocked.

"_Impossible..." _he thought to himself. This could not be. Of all the possible scenarios this was the least probable and the most horrible one that could have come to pass. The black fleet of Hellas... the empire had entered the war! He heard the ship creaked around him, Megalomesembria's pride being helpless as the guardian beast of the empire, the ancient and never defeated dragon queen Vrixas Nagasha, tore the into the proud ship, its giant jaws currently tearing a hole the size of a mansion in the side of the ship. Throwing the piece of metal in its mouth away, the dragon took a deep breath and put its maw back against the hole. Exhaling with all its might, it sent a torrent of white-hot fire into the corridors of the vessel at hurricane-level velocity, tearing through all pressurized doors and hatches in the ship like nothing. Even the one foot thick warded doors of the bridge was no match for the ancient flames, they were torn from their hinges with explosive force as the tidal wave of fire rushed in on the bridge, turning every living being inside it to ashes. Maxwell died instantly. He had only just enough time to spin around and see the wall of flame coming at him, his hair and his clothes combusting even before the flames reached him. His clothes and hair, his skin, his flesh and even his bones were instantly reduced to ashes.

The Svanhvit's every window flared up, tongues of flame shooting out from several places of the hull, and the ship died. It fell from the sky, the ancient beast tearing the superdreadnaught in two pieces. With a lunge, it threw the back half into the lake, throwing up cascades of water that reached the peaks of the mountains as the entire half of the ship buried itself in the muddy lake bottom with the fins up towards the sky. In blasts of fire, the roar of thunder, the clash of deal and the screams of the dying, the Megalomesembrians were thrown back. The attacking fleet came over the peaks in perfect order, having surprised their enemy totally and now slaughtering the exhausted, battered and thinly spread fleet.

Not one Megalomesembric ship escaped Othila, singular lance riders and a few Praetorians were the only ones who got away and the newcomer fleet were still hounding them. Yet so were the surviving Vespertatians and Bergafolk.

And they were angry.

* * *

Ormgeirr's mind burned with fury, white hot fury, as he dashed through the forest along with his chosen warriors, the seventeen that remained of a hundred man band. Over the course of three months they had been grounded to dust, no matter how much death they had wrought there had been new enemies coming at them and warrior by warrior his chosen ones had fallen.

They had been driven north, away from Othila, and Ormgeirr had roared against the heavens in frustration and impotence as the army he led was destroyed, band after band of warriors slain and their broken bodies coming to feed the crows. The enemy had been too strong, even for him, and he had been certain it was the end of the bergafolk, that the end days had come for them. Yet, for some reason, he still didn't understand why nor did he care, the enemy had started to flee. Their advance had startled to stall and then all of a sudden collapsed. Their enemies were fleeing, almost in wild panic, and Ormgeirr was now hunting them.

Rage burned in him, rage spawned by the burned villages, the massacre of his people. As he ran through the forest, feeling the smell of fear in the air, he snarled. They were djavul! These invaders were djavul itself! They left nothing standing, burning all! This was the great battle of the end times for Ormgeirr and they had only one thing to expect, those things currently fleeing from him, kampherre Mane's full rage!

"A thousand lives in his name!" he roared, the response from around him thunderous despite them being so few.

"A thousand deaths by his hands!" his warriors all screamed and Oremgeirr felt satisfaction. He could see the spawn of djavul further away, they couldn't run, they couldn't hide!

"I see you!" Ormgeirr roared, seeing how some of the fiends further away looked back. He could smell their fear, they were terrified, panicked. Thy had dropped their weapons and armour, only trying to run. Useless! Ormgeirr leaped up into the trees, feeling the pounding desire to kill in his entire being. With a series of animal leaps, he moved through the branches and got above them. As he dropped off the branch now he roared, the man below him only having just enough time to look up before Ormgeirr had sunken his claws into his face, tearing the head off with sheer savage force.

Everything vanished in a red haze, Ormgeirr tore through them, gleefully maiming and mutilating everything without reach and without discrimination. His chosen stayed out of his reach, knowing what they could expect, and Ormgeirr lost himself in a frenzy of blood. Limbs were torn off, flesh slashed, bones shattered, throats slit and hearts ripped out. The carnage was orgasmic in its intensity and reward, Ormgeirr ended up standing in a sea of blood and guts and body parts, staring down at the last survivor. A boy, not twenty years old, was staring up at him, tears and blood running down his face. His heel tendons were slit, making him only able to scoot backwards.

"Please!" the boy cried, every last bit of courage in him annihilated. He was reduced to a broken puppy. "Please! I don't want to die, I just wanna go home!" he cried. Ormgeirr walked up to him, grinning through the layer of blood that covered him.

"You..." he said hoarsely, reaching down to grab the boy by the throat. "Don't have a home." he raised his other hand with the fingers curved, "You are meat, you belong in my gut!" With that, he let his hand fall, digging into the boy's guts and beginning to tear them out, organ by organ. The boy struggled, screamed, shrieked and cried, called for his mother, then fell still as Ormgeirr feasted upon him, savouring the kill. Yet there was more to come, this was not over, he would not stop before every last of those who had hurt his people lay like this, broken and eaten!

* * *

Asuna lay silent, unmoving and unaware of all that happened around her. The girl was in a coma, laying with her chest wrapped in salve-soaked bandages and several magic devices hooked up to her. The bed she lay in was completely white, making her skin seem vibrantly full of life when in truth she was pale. The orange colour of her hair was the only real colour in the room it seemed, the bed, the walls, the floors and the ceiling were all pale, subdued colours shifting towards white.

At her bedside, Nagi Springfield stood with a grieving look on his face. He had changed into clean clothes and at least didn't dirty the room. Yet it did little to stop him from feeling old, old and weary. Leaning upon his staff, with a tired look in the eyes wrinkles had appeared around and his bitter expression half hidden behind a short beard, he thought of the sight that had chilled him to the core, the sight of Asuna lying on the floor of that temple, a knife in her heart. He had at first been frozen, then he had burned with anger as fierce as he hadn't felt since that day he thought Negi had been murdered.

Asuna... Nagi looked at her and felt the conflicting emotions. He loved her, she was like his daughter, and he would do anything for her if he had to. Yet, did he have that right? Negi, his son, his real child, lay in an early grave due to Nagi refusing to accept his role as a father of a little boy even as he had become like a father to a little girl. Reaching down, Nagi ran a hand over her chin, feeling the cool, soft skin beneath his rough and calloused fingers.

Had Negi ever done this gesture? Nagi could almost see it in front of his inner eye. The medical equipment seemed to fade away, the deathly paleness of Asuna became replaced by a healthy blush. Beside her, in the same bed, he could almost see Negi, Negi as he had been three years ago, lie with one arm draped over her chest, the hand up to gently brush along Asuna's cheek as he watched her with a faint smile his lips. Asuna opened her eyes as she felt the soft touch, captured Negis hand and turned to look at him, smiling back at him. The tenderness was almost palpable, the purity almost painful. The love of two young people, unfettered by tragedies, suffering and hardships. That was what could have been... yet now Negi was dead and Asuna had nearly followed him. Nagi eventually sighed as he sat down next to her, letting his hand slip into Asuna's and holding it. She was cold, almost chillingly so.

"Please princess." he whispered, "Don't die you too, I can't lose you like I lost Negi." he sat down on a footstool by Asuna's side, clasping her hand with both his and put it towards his forehead. He had to grit his teeth in order to not cry. Once again he felt so helpless, so useless. He found himself terrified once again, terrified that despite all his power, all his accomplishments, he couldn't save what really mattered to him. If Asuna died then all that had happened here was pointless. Once again he'd have been just too late to save his loved ones.

He could hear the door open behind him and soft footsteps told him he was no longer alone. He did not turn back though, being busy wishing, begging, praying, that Asuna would get through this. The footsteps came up to his side and he glanced up to see a young man stand by the bedside. He was clothed in light blue clothes, a jacket and trousers. His skin was pale white, his eyes pale blue and his hair silver.

"Your arrival was timely indeed, Thousand Master." the young man said, his voice utterly dispassionate, almost emotionless. "I was certain we were doomed." Despite the dispassionate tone there was something in his voice. Gratitude? Perhaps, it was hard to determine.

"You're welcome..." Nagi put back Asuna's hand on the bed and clasped his in front of his face. He didn't know what to say. Who was this guy? One of Asuna's generals or something? "Why did she do it?" Nagi asked. "According to the healers the knife in her heart was planted there by herself. I don't get it, why?"

"Because she was spent." the silver-haired young man said. "Her role in this war was symbolic, a figurehead to inspire and give the soldiers a sense of invincibility. As the Megalomesembrians pushed into the mountains, nothing stopping them, she bit by bit lost that ability to inspire the others."

"But why..."

"A martyr can be more dangerous than a living person." was the answer. "If she had chosen exile people would have started to doubt. Even though she returned she couldn't save them, her blessings had faltered. She wouldn't have been able to serve her people in that way. Better to become a martyr, a symbol, clear and unsullied, of what the Megalomesembrians had done to this land."

"She'd rather kill herself then retreat?" Nagi asked incredulously. He didn't get it, what the hell?

"She'd rather become a dead symbol with the power to motivate her people than a living one without that ability." the young man corrected Nagi. There was now an undercurrent of steel in his voice. "Do not confuse what she did with simple inability to accept defeat, she chose this course as it was the only way for her to keep being able to do anything for her people."

"Okay, okay." Nagi said, backing off. He could tell he had flipped a sensitive switch with the young man. For a while things became silent but in the end Nagi spoke up again. .

"Are... are you doing well out there now?" he continued lamely, asking the first thing he could think of. The young man looked out of the window now with a distant look in his eyes. Outside of the window the pyriths could be seen, the white peaks glistening in the sun.

"That depends on your definition of well." he said. "Our forces have regrouped, yes. They have begun to push back, yes."

"But?" Nagi asked.

"They have heard of what happened to her highness. Right now they are in a grief-induced rage and are hunting down whatever Megalomesembrians they can catch up with. What happens next... it is not a pretty sight."

Nagi got something cold in his stomach now, understanding what the man meant instantly. In this situation he couldn't imagine that the resistance would let any Megalomesembrian they got their hands on live. By the fates, as he had heard it there were tens of thousands of Megalomesembrians in the mountains and if they had fallen into a complete rout... It would be a massacre!

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "Look, you got to stop them!" he said as he got to his feet.

"Why?" the young man asked, folding his arms calmly. His face was still impassive, not a hint of concern or worry in them.

"Because this fleet is only with me because I promised the Hellas empress that intervening here wouldn't dishonour her soldiers!" Nagi hissed. "They threw themselves into this only because it was a chance to end this quickly, without massacres and war crimes!"

"Firstly, that is your problem, not ours." the silver-haired young man answered. "Secondly, I have no authority to stop them. I am her highness' puppet, a doll in her service. I have as much control over the men as her highness' clothes have."

"Shit!" Nagi hissed again.

"Indeed." the young man said. "If you wish to prevent wholesale slaughter of those who saw no issue wreaking it unto us you'll have to do it yourself. Perhaps they'd surrender to you. The Thousand Master could make them stop running."

"Damn it..." Nagi swore and left the room. Stopping in the doorway. He looked back at Asuna, a pained look coming over his face before he turned and left again. And in the room Fate looked after the Thousand Master, his eyes contemplative. Yet after a few seconds it turned into a faint sneer, the eyes narrowed and the lines in the face hardened just a little bit. Turning to look at Asuna, the young man leaned forwards, brushing some errant strands of hair from her forehead.

"Be at ease, master." he whispered. "When you wake up, your nation will be free again. That I swear." his voice betrayed agitation and grim determination. Even anger was present in the voice. Fate Averruncus had almost lost his mistress, the mere thought had terrified him, something he had thought himself unable to feel. For a few grim seconds he had literally felt Asuna die, the sensation had bee horrifying and he would not allow that to happen again, no matter what.

* * *

As the black fleet floated forth through the mountains swiftly and steadily the Megalomesembric offensive fell apart. Not prepared to deal with a force of ships that even during the start of the offensive would have been an equal fleet, the now battered, thinly spread and exhausted ships were no match for the attackers. Like packs of sharks, the black ships spread out in squadrons of six to twelve, hunting down the ships, circling around them, attacking the weak spots and bringing them down. The superior speed and agility of the black ships made them lethal amongst the Pyrith peaks and the results were devastating. In the end, entire ships and even squadrons begun to surrender, the black ships capturing vessel after enemy vessel.

And fortunate was that indeed, for even the Hellas fleet, the swift and deadly, was only half a step ahead of the surviving Vespertatians and Bergafolk. By whatever vehicles they had left or even by foot the surviving members of the resistance hounded their hated enemies, not showing any mercy towards their captives nor any understanding towards the Hellas forces who sought to end this as bloodlessly as possible. The presence of the Thousand Master and the crimson wing meant little to dissuade the vengeful freedom fighters.

Once more Admiral Takeda showed his absolute control over the armies under his command. Even with the loss of the respect he had once had commanded he nevertheless brought the slaughter to a stop. After having been retrieved from the wreckage where his ship had gone down during the last days of the Megalomesembric offensive he assumed utter control and brought the carnage to a stop. All through the Pyriths the most uncontrollable elements were directly contacted, Takeda intimidating them into obedience with sheer force of will. When that was not enough he had elite soldiers dispatched to them with slave collars, putting leashes on those who would not obey. In some cases entire squads were executed, Takeda accepted no disobedience and waving the authority the princess had given him around like a club he managed to bring the carnage to a halt and forge an united front. The few units who did disobey his commands to stand down were declared traitors instantly and swiftly dealt with. And while the resentment many of the soldiers felt for him only grew, Takeda nevertheless regained control over them.

For three months the Megalomesembric armies had pushed into the pyriths, yet only one week after they had reached Othila a few, scattered remnants of the Megalomesembric armada came fleeing out of the mountains. Small groups of lance riders and the occasional small, swift ship came fleeing out of the mountains in disarray and panic. At the command central in Ostia nobody understood what was going on. In the main surveillance room Maxwell's second-in-command, the major – now general – who had been in charge here when Maxwell arrived and took over, was looking over the shoulder of one of the men trying to contact the fleeing troops.

"Strike craft, what is your status!" the comm officer yelled into the equipment, "Where's the rest of your squadron?"

"_Flee, flee!" _the man on the other end yelled. _"They came for us, the black ones! The monsters! They're right behind us! Flee! Or they'll get you too!" _the general now tore the speaker from the officer.

"This is General Douglas!" he yelled into the speaker, "What happened in there, where is the executor-in-chief, answer me damn it!"

"_G-general!" _the voice yelled as something moved on the automatic battle map up ahead. Already several small, blue dots representing the scattered friendlies were moving towards the city from the mountains. A black line went along the top side of the map, showing where the chaotic magic of the pyriths made all long range sensors useless. However something else was starting to show up. More and more red dots appeared along the line, moving rapidly towards the city as well.

"What the hell..." General Douglas said as he looked at the map. A small summary on the upper left corner of the large map showed the exact numbers of hostile and friendly ships in the field and the meter begun to tick, faster and faster. Ten , twenty, forty, sixty, one hundred, two hundred! The meter settled at nearly four hundred and General Douglas could only stare in chock at the giant display, the sea of red dots moving across it like a tidal wave of blood.

"_It's the black fleet!"_ the voice on the other end of the speaker yelled, almost sobbing. _"They wiped us out! We're doomed! We're all going to die!"_

"Where's the Svanhvit!" the general yelled after a few seconds. "What happened to the executor-in-chief!"

"_I don't know!" _the man responded, _"last I saw him was at the enemy base, but then they came! Run damn it! All of you! We're gonna die otherwise!"_

General Douglas stared at the massive advancing fleet in horror. The entire armada gone? By all that was holy... the number of casualties... instantly he begun to calculate, his stomach churning as he realized the number of people who must have died here. All in all, the number of soldiers and crewmen that had been sent into the mountains stood at one hundred and fifty thousand! Those were casualties unheard of even during the schismatic war!

He begun to think. How the hell could they resist something like that? New reports kept coming in, lance riders were being deployed from the approaching armada, the tight formations instantly recognizable as Ariadne Valkyrie knights and with a force that big the Hellas empress would have sent her Silvershields as well. Counting the number of forces at their disposal, the general tried desperately to come up with something.

He came up with nothing. They were so outmatched that it wasn't even funny. The best thing they could hope for was a drawn out campaign of extermination against them as they clung to whatever holdouts they could gain. Ostia would be devastated... countless lives would be lost... and it would only work if the homeland could amass a counter-attack.

No... sitting down from the sheer shock, the general realized it was a hopeless prospect. Already he had received word that any units that could be spared had to be sent home. Civil war was nearing back home. A clash in the senate had ended with Senator Ricardo and many of the reformists fleeing to Tristan and publicly speaking out against the senate and urging all to join them. What more, in the senate the progressive party had passed emergency charters, declared martial law and declared Ricardo, the once hero of the republic, an enemy of the state to be killed on sight.

And all the while, they were trapped here. General Douglas realized he was shivering and it took him several seconds to realize that an officer was yelling at him.

"Sir, what do we do!" the captain yelled, the strain in his voice betraying his near panic. Douglas shook his head.

"Contact the enemy fleet, on all frequencies." he said slowly. "Tell them... we surrender."

* * *

"Awaken, you who are of the sun." the soft voice whispered, making Asuna slowly stir. Opening her eyes, she was almost blinded by the bright, white light. Raising her arm to shield her eyes with a groan, she blinked. It was first after a while that her eyes had adapted enough that she could look around. She was lying in the middle of a white, featureless place. She could feel solid ground beneath her but it was impossible to see whether she was lying out in the open or inside some kind of room. All around her was the bright, glowing white. Looking around, Asuna eventually stood up, wondering where she was. She did not need to remain wondering for long however, something moved in the corner of her eye and when she turned to look at it she saw the hazy, seemingly translucent, outline of a person. It stood a few meters away from her, calmly looking down on her.

"Mistguard." Asuna said, recognizing the singing speech pattern. "Where am I?"

"Where the sun does not shine." the voice answered. "Where what is, isn't. Where nothingness and eternity lies in balance." Having spent three years with the riddles of the mistguard as a constant companion, Asuna could derive a decent guess to what the figure meant.

"Between life and death?" she asked, the distant figure answering affirmative. Asuna did not even get irritated with the cryptic answers any more. However, she looked around with a sinking feeling in her gut. This wasn't what she had expected to await her...

"What happened?" she eventually asked. "I stabbed myself in the heart... I should be dead."

"An unexpected saviour is the most blessed kind." the figure said, keeping its distance "The struggle is not over yet for the people of the sun."

"It's... it's not over?" Asuna asked. Worry stabbed her in the gut. But how? Othila had fallen, they had been crushed utterly! How could the fight still be going on? "What happened?" she asked now, frantically needing to know what was going on.

"That is not for you to know, chosen of the sun." the voice said. "At this gateway, the nowhere of everywhere, this one had come to deliver a truth."

"What truth?" Asuna found herself asking, not liking the tone in the whispering voice

"The role the chosen of the sun plays in this war is spent." the voice said. "In death, you sought to be a light for your kin. This has been fulfilled. The people of the sun are lit by the flames of wrath. The struggle is carried on. Yet for you, the role is played out and there's naught left for you to do." Asuna listened to the voice with dread building in her. In the three years that had passed she had come to trust this speaker in the mists, implicitly so. She still did not know what he or she or it was, but knew that it saw more than humans could, knew more than mortals were able to.

"Is... is there nothing I can do any more?" she asked after a while, shocked to silence by the spectre's words.

"There is not." the misty being answered with what seemed like regret in it's voice. " In truth, any more effort invested by you upon this struggle would unbalance it and bring weakness upon your forces. It is the curse of a perfectly executed deed, that it leaves nothing but the risk of sabotaging it in its wake."

"Oh sol..." Asuna said, covering her face in her hands. This was what she had hoped for in a way, but still. If she was still alive, however barely, that meant... she suddenly dreaded the thought of walking up.

"Let not despair and grief lord over you, chosen of the sun." the mistguard said now, "At this nothingness, the crossroads of all things, the highest of all beings have taken notice of you. The dedication shown, the single-minded devotion and majesty, has granted you one boon." Mistguard stepped to the side, raising its arm as the air behind it begun to glow. A gateway formed, one wreathed in soft, golden light that stood out against the smoky, hazy reality around her. Asuna almost choked at what came next. Inside the gateway she could see another reality, one where a lush, verdant landscape lay beneath a golden sun, where snowy white clouds danced across an impossibly blue sky. Yet it was the small group of people sitting under a large tree that truly caught her attention.

They were four all in all, a tall, wide-shouldered man with long, blonde, almost white, hair yet still not a wrinkle in his face. His skin was tanned and his features sharp, noble. In his lap a beautiful woman rested her head, the woman had deep red, almost scarlet hair and pale white skin. Her built was slight and she seemed almost frail, like a porcelain doll. In the trees above them a lean young man hung on one of the branches, his skin was nearly as pale as the woman below, his hair pale red and his eyes green. He was currently working on a flower garland. Having just finished it, he flipped backwards, ended up hanging upside down and with a flick of his wrist, he sent it flying through the air, the garland ending up landing on the blonde head of a younger woman walking towards them. The woman, slightly shorter than the red headed woman, pushed up the garland as it landed somewhat slanting on her head and revealed her eyes, one blue and one green. The eyes were currently giving the younger man a dry look to which the younger man only grinned.

It was like being struck in the gut with an iron fist for Asuna. She knew who those people were... her family... it was her family! Her childhood memories, clouded by time and grief, suddenly became clear as day as she saw the entirety of the family she had lost many years ago. They were so close... only a few dozen meters away from her. In her shock she did not even notice how the mistguard came up beside her.

"The cycle of rebirth was not entered by your kin thirteen years ago." the figure said. "When their youngest did not follow them they all clung to the last vestiges of existence. Until their beloved girl is with them, they will remain in this realm granted to them. That is the boon, that is the gift." Motioning for Asuna to step through, the figure continued. "for giving everything, the door has opened for you. Pass through, and you can be with your loved ones again."

Asuna looked at the gateway, her eyes beginning to mist up at the sight, her heart aching so badly and her lungs constricting. Every fibre of her being wanted to run through the gate, yet she remained still, forcing out the question inside her.

"If I go... I'll die won't I?"

"The physical body you left behind will fall cold." the mistguard said, "It will be enshrined in gold and crystal, eternally lie as a memory of the noble house of Entheofuchsia and a uniting force for the country of the sun. The death of you will be the fulfilment of your wish, will be what makes you an eternal, unchanging symbol for your people. Pass through, and be with your loved ones again." the voice sounded almost tender now. In the voice that normally spoke without passion or emotion there was now a tone of softness, of compassion. Standing beside Asuna, it now raised one hand, putting it on Asuna's shoulder.

Backing away from the gate, Asuna spun around. "Close that gate." she spoke with a strained yet firm voice, refusing to look back at the gate through which her family could be seen.

"Will you forsake this..." the voice began, Asuna cutting it off.

"Close the gate!" Asuna screamed. "I am still the princess of Vespertatia! When my nation is free I'm going to become a queen. I've got decades left to rule and I'm not going to abandon my people! Close it!" For a few seconds everything was quiet, then the figure reached out and touched the portal, making it vanish within a second.

"Honour is with your house for this sacrifice, you who are of the sun." the figure said, its voice beginning to sound weak, Asuna didn't look back as the figure faded away, becoming one with the mists around it. She did not look, because she already was blinded. The tears the started to run down her face made her clench her eyes shut and her hands into fists. Fighting back the tremors in her body, she refused to cry. Soon her body started to dissolve as well and she vanished from the place between life and death.

When the Asuna lying in the sick-bed woke up, a solitary tear had made its way down her cheek. The girl hurt, her heart hurt so badly she could hardly breathe, and it was not the wound that caused the pain.

* * *

Ricardo put down the dossier on the speaker's pulpit in front of him. The small county parliament where he and the other reformists had set up shop was almost cramped compared to the opulent senate. The county MPs had gladly given up the place to them though and Ricardo wasn't gonna whine considering that. There was plenty of other things to whine about...

Megalomesembria was a nation divided, the schism was evident for any and all and already martial law had been declared across the nation, a general call of draft going out from the capitol as the progressives sought to get as many soldiers as they could, both to quell civil unrest and their reformist opponents. Most of the armed forces had not obeyed their orders yet, when the senate said one thing and the supreme commander and the former commander of the praetorians said something else it was hard for a loyal soldier to know what to do. That didn't stop the violence though.

On both sides of the fledgling civil war unrest had exploded. Nationalists and reformists clashed daily, the fighting being everything from bar fights to massed militia uprisings. Splinter factions and extremists arose on a daily basis, the Tantalus separatists had taken the opportunity and declared the entire province an independent state. Nagi Springfield had used a term at some point during the schismatic war that perfectly described the whole situation: clusterfuck.

And here he sat now, leader of the reformists, in what would be the capitol of their nation in the upcoming civil war, and had not one bloody clue what to do. Especially not now, with the report that lay in front of him on the table. On one hand he was delighted that Gerald had come with him and taken such effective control of the administration here, after only a week the paperwork went as smoothly and properly as could be. On the other hand the report itself made him want to fall on his sword.

Hellas had entered the stage. In Vespertatia the black fleet had ambushed the expeditionary force sent into the mountains, all reports reaching the same conclusion about what had happened: a massacre. The executor in chief was presumed dead, the fleet annihilated and the enemy already at Ostia, the garrison having surrendered in the face of the onslaught. Tens of thousands of soldiers were now either prisoners of war or trapped in a hostile nation.

And even in the face of this the progressives spouted their dogma, that this entire catastrophe wasn't their fault obviously, but his. The dissidents and traitors who worked against the nation... Were they truly so detached from reality? When next? Political prison camps...? Oh wait, they already had started with those...

"Fellow senators..." he said, the full attention of his fellow reformists being on him. All in all fifty-three senators had gotten away, seventeen of them having been captured by the eighty-first. "We are standing at the brink of oblivion." he begun, "War will soon break out, it is unavoidable. I do not want to say it, it is a bullshit tactic usually, but our opponents will not step down so we cannot hesitate here. What more, they are the ones who hold the senate and the capitol, meaning they will be the easier pick as the legitimate side, both for the people and the armed forces. To put it bluntly: we need something to prove us as the ones holding the moral high ground. To this effect, I am proposing what I'd like to call Operation Outreach. You have all gotten copies of the plan and I will take your questions now."

"The plan is a desperate gamble at best." senator Callaban said. The hawkish, middle-aged woman had been one of the first to speak up for Ricardo's side that time, seemingly years ago, when the Senate had struggled with what to do. Back when the nation was still united... "If it fails, we will not have any second chances."

"We don't have that to begin with." Ricardo said. "Our armed forces aren't trained to question their orders and the senate is legally the supreme authority over them. Even that they have stayed neutral this far is unexpected. We have no chance if they bring down the armed forces on us. We live on loaned time"

"Even so." another senator said. "Why would they listen to us? We are hardly on the top of their list of friends at the moment."

"That is true." Ricardo said, "Yet the progressives are ten times further down. No side of this conflict wants more conflict than absolutely necessary. If the progressives win this civil war, it will continue in one way or another. Even now, while Megalomesembria's armed forces might be beaten, they are not broken. The loss of the task force was a devastating blow, but the nation has much more to dedicate to the fight. We are looking at what will become a drawn-out quagmire of conflict, one we will be ill equipped to win. We need to differentiate ourselves from the progressives, show the world that they have more to gain from our side emerging as the winners in this war. Yes, this is a gamble, but we need to gamble in order to win this. Our country is at stake. " Spread nods amongst the senators could be seen now, the room was small enough that Ricardo could see even the least movements. How different from the great senatorial hall in the capitol... there, the people you spoke to became so distant, became figures off in the distance that you some times not even could see the facial features of... "Any further questions?" Ricardo asked now. None of the senators spoke, several of them shook their heads. "Then let's vote." he said.

Without any fanciful magical aids to help them, the senators had to use a voting booth, each walking in behind a screen and writing "Yes" or "No" on a small paper which they put in a cardboard box. Afterwards Gerald took the box and calmly counted the votes, the whole process took fifteen minutes all in all. The result: an overwhelming majority in favour of Operation Outreach.


	23. Where I was

Chapter 23: Where I was

* * *

In the medical bay of the giant ship Asuna lay silently in her bed and stared absently at the wall. She did blink and her breathing was deep enough to show she was conscious. At her bedside, Fate sat on a footstool. The pale man was quietly talking, telling Asuna of what had transpired while she was unconscious. Asuna slowly nodded as she was told what had happened and when the story came to a close she chuckled. A dry, cynical chuckle came over her lips.

"Of course..." she said, smiling sourly. Slowly shaking her head, she gritted her teeth.

"Your highness?" Fate asked quietly now, Asuna throwing her hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"I actually thought it was us." she said, "Would you believe it? I thought that we somehow... that this came due to what we did. But nooo." the princess laughed cynically. "All it took... was for the thousand master to get his thumb out of his ass." the laughter changed character now. It slowly died, being replaced with anger. Her fingers dug into the white sheet covering her, it bunched up in her hands as they formed into fists. The frustration was evident on her face, the eyes begun to open more widely, her teeth were gritted and the breath came hoarsely

"That... is a possible interpretation." Fate begun, Asuna snarling.

"All these deaths... all this suffering... was this all it took!" tears of anger, frustration and helplessness started to form in Asuna's eyes. "Then why... why the hell didn't he come until now..." her voice shivered.

"Because I was unable." a voice came from the doorway .Asuna looked up, furious, and met Nagi's gaze. The man was standing in the doorway, one hand on the doorframe. He looked old, weary, to Asuna. He had a short, somewhat trimmed beard and wrinkles had appeared here and there in his face. He seemed so different from how she remembered him. Not that she thought too much about that as it was. Being confronted with what had happened while she was unconscious, Asuna now was furious. Once again Nagi had come out of nowhere, saving them all, but once again it had been only when so much death and pain had happened already. Nagi's eyes could only partly pacify her, the sad, weary gaze not earning any understanding from her.

"Three years." she said, her voice filled with vitriol. "I've been here for three years... watched everyone I care about die, and you couldn't come until right now?" Nagi nodded .

"Negi." he said, making Asuna flinch, almost as if she had been hit. "When he died I... I broke." the thousand master said solemnly, "I can't explain it, but I just gave up. I wanted to die, crawled off to some pisshole to drink myself to death. I stayed there until Eva found me, sealed off my magic and dragged me to the southern jungles. If you wonder where I was all this time, I was there, being tortured to death."

"Yet you are here now." Fate added, the pale young man looking at Nagi with ice cold eyes. Nagi nodded and bared his wrists. Asuna couldn't help but flinch at the sight. Two deep, ugly and uneven scars were carved into them. Whatever had done that had caused such grievous damage that even healing magic could only close it, leaving the almost inch wide scars running over the wrists.

"If you care I can tell you how." he said. There was no spite, no apology, in his voice. Only a statement of fact. Asuna looked at the scars, then at his face. Emotions played on her face, the princess showing her ambivalence openly. In the end though she motioned for him to sit down with an angry gesture. Nagi walked in and sat down wordlessly. It was first when he was seated that he spoke up.

* * *

Down in the dungeon Nagi hung limply, staring absently into the water. The soul of the thousand master seemed removed from his body, his breath was shallow and his eyes glazed over. However, that was not all there was to this man. Inside a battle raged. The despair and silent submission he had endured for all these years had come to be challenged. Images of Asuna filled his mind, along with Eva's taunting words. The only thing left of Negi, she would die the vampiress had said. Nagi couldn't bear the thought but it kept pushing at him, egging him to act. The desperation he felt upon being unable to do anything only further drove him to frustration and anger. It was a slow, boiling mix inside him, however soon it begun to have physical manifestations. His breath quickened, his muscles begun to tense. Slowly, with the patience of a man obsessed, he begun to explore the chains that bound him. He sought for weak links, flaws in them, anything that could help him. His fingers explored them thoroughly, feeling only well forged chain which he never could break, not with his magic sealed off.

If only it wasn't sealed off, if only he had his magic. The black rings running on his skin blocked him from all magic, made him unable to use it. If only it wasn't there... if only the circle was broken.

Nagi startled. A mad idea came to him, settled in his head and refused to leave. Slowly running his fingers over the marks on his wrists, he could feel the change in texture where they ran. No... that was madness...

Madness? What? Was there anything who hadn't gone insane? Nagi gritted his teeth. If he had to go insane then so be it. He dug his fingernails into his skin right above the markings and pulled. The scratching sound was accompanied by a sharp pain, however he didn't even register it. Standing up straight, he could twist so both his hands could work the other wrist. His breath quickened and his teeth clenched as he continued, scratching at the markings even as blood begun to drop down his arms and down into his hair .Taking deep breaths, he continued even as he got past the skin and into the flesh. His hands became wet and sticky yet he kept scratching, the pain whipping him into a frenzy of scratching and tearing.

Then, it all snapped. In one instant it all came rushing back into him. For the first time in years magic filled him, the sensation almost painful in its intensity. Nagi took a deep breath almost from the shock, pulling it into himself almost greedily, desperately. The light filled him, completed him, and as the powerful blast of pure energy surged through him, Nagi felt ecstatic, blissful beyond words, and the explosion rocked the mountains.

A shockwave, as devastating as that of the two nuclear weapons unleashed in the skies above Japan during the greatest conflict the old world ever had experienced, tore through the jungles. Overwhelming in its force, it made the ground tremble, the foilage burn and tress and rocks fly in all directions, some of them several tonnes heavy, as a blinding, while light filled the jungle. The pyramid was annihilated, utterly, in an instant, and for man kilometres in all directions the inhabitants of the forest startled and fled in wild panic, even the greatest and most powerful.

It took minutes for the dust to settle, the echoes of the detonation to die out, and when it did the thousand master stood in the middle of one large expanse of nothingness. The entire pyramid was gone, dungeons and all, and a titanic crater had formed where it once had been. And at the epicentre of this blast the thousand master stood, reborn in a blaze of energy that now swirled around him. Not a halo of holy light, rather a merciless, raw storm of pure magic. With bared teeth, hair whipping in the wind, ragged breath and blood streaming down his arms, the thousand master was reborn. The greatest mage of a thousand years and more looked up, his eyes filled with thunder and fury.

High in the sky above him and rapidly descending, the maga nosferatu came down towards him, landing on the ground several dozen meters in front of him. She was wreathed in a cloak of deepest black, her eyes glowing red and her fangs bared. In her beautiful face, there was nothing but savagery, malice and hunger. Any trace of humanity, however twisted or wicked it had been was gone and now nothing but a predator amongst predators stood in front of him.

"Get out of my way Eva." Nagi said, his voice resounding with power and his very presence hanging over the entire greater area. The force pulsated, like the beating heart of magic itself. "I'm going to save Asuna, no matter what." Yet Evangeline only sneered, tendrils of darkness forming around her, like a black hole in creation.

"Do you truly think I'll let you go?" the vampiress asked, her voice an inhuman, terrifying hiss "I have a thousand more years of pain to give you, human." opening her hands, the vampiress wove two orbs of dark magic, black energy blazing up around her as a smile, terrifying enough to strike even brave men paralysed with terror, settled on her lips.

"Then you're going down." the thousand master opened his hands, forming concentrated orbs of pure thunder magic in them. The next second they clashed, the thousand master and the dark evangel meeting each others' attacks with a force that could shatter the mountains.

The thousand master fought like possessed. With magic finally back in his body he invoked it hungrily, unleashing spell after spell which each was of a power level that would kill normal mages. Each of his punches were wreathed in magic and no matter what he was hit with he just kept going. In his face there was no hesitation, no exhaustion, no doubt, only implacable fury and endless power, the power that had stared down armies and came out on top.

Evangeline, meanwhile, only snarled, where Nagi was an implacable titan, she was a roaring wildfire, his magic was pure light, hers was the vilest darkness. More terrible than ever before, the maga nosferatu launched herself at Nagi, her claws tearing up gashes across his skin, her magic burning him, even as he fought back as hard, wounded her as much, she only kept going, the rage and hunger only being whipped into a deeper and deeper frenzy.

The battle raged for hours, neither of the two parties backing down, instead only pushing harder, Nagi's cold determination and Eva's dark fury unrelenting. Their battle took them across the crater, into the forest and up into the mountains as they tore the world around them asunder in their epic battle. Yet, as the sun set and the moon rose above them, it was Evangeline that faltered. The queen of the night steadily lost ground, being forced back as her blasts of dark magic failed to measure up to Nagi's unending torrent of light and thunder. In the end, in the dead of night as the moon had reached its peak high above them, Nagi flung Evangeline backwards, sending the vampiress tumbling along the ground several dozens of meters. The vampiress looked up, snarling as she got to her feet again, yet then she paused.

This lull of combat made it all come to a halt. Nagi, who had been waiting for Evangeline's counter attack, came to merely stand there, watch as the tendrils of darkness around her vanished. His opponent let go of all her magic, making the pressure Nagi had been meeting vanish. The sensation was almost like pushing against a wall only to have it vanish, Nagi only just managed to rein it in and came to just look at Evangeline.

The vampiress stood and just stared at her hands, Nagi first now realizing something was slowly falling from them. Slowly, almost lazily, a steady stream of small, glistening particles fell from them, sparkling in the moonlight.

"So it came..." she whispered, Nagi already having had the blood in his veins slow down, her words now making it grow cold for some reason. Evangeline now looked up at him, the inhuman monstrousness gone from her face and in it was only Evangeline, the Eva-chan he had known. All thoughts of fighting were suddenly gone from him as the woman and indeed the girl behind the queenly glamour, smiled wryly. "You certainly stopped quickly, Nagi." she said.

"I didn't want to fight you." Nagi answered, almost absently, noticing how the small specks fell from her face as well, even her hair. From her entire body it fell. "What is going on with you?" he asked, suddenly worrying. The hours of battle had cleared out his head of all the cobwebs, he felt awake, more focused in the present than he had been in so long. And now, of all things, he felt some kind of concern for the vampiress. Evangeline pursed her lips, raising one hand to show him as the dust fell from it. Making a whipping motion, she made even more dust fall form it.

"A legacy of your son." she said, "I've been falling apart ever since I was freed from his slavery. I could stave it off for this long only by not using too much magic." Now she smiled dryly,"Yet your awakening put an effective end to that it seems."

"Are you... are you dying?" Nagi asked, Evangeline rolling her eyes.

"Oh please, stop snivelling." she said, admonishing him. "I did not do all this only to have you sink back into moping when you finally awoke. Besides," she added now, "Dying at your hands... it is not a bad fate." the falling dust only intensified, Evangeline taking a few steps backwards and out onto one of the cliffs. "If you seek to aid Asuna you'll need an army." she told him now, the moon having settled behind her and framing her in a silvery frame. "the Megalomesembrians have thrown all they can spare against her, wanting to break her and her followers. You cannot defeat them on your own, not even you. Go north, seek an audience with the empress matriarch of Hellas. The favour of her third daughter is the best bet you have." Stepping backwards towards the gorge behind her, she turned around to look at the moon. "Good luck." she whispered.

"Evangeline!" Nagi threw himself forwards, grabbing Evangeline by the wrist to stop what he feared would happen. Evangeline startled and looked backwards at him, Nagi realizing first a second later how her wrist had started to crumble in his hand. Withdrawing in shock, he watched how she raised the wrist where large chunks of it had fallen out, raining to the ground.

"Is my death not approaching fast enough for you?" the woman smirked wryly at him, Nagi slowly shaking his head. Not to answer her question, rather to give voice to what he was thinking.

"Eva... don't! There's gotta be some way to stop this." Nagi begun, the last three years having been burned away in this one blaze of energy. Having been reborn, Nagi had become unable to care about such petty things as what once had been.

"You assume I want to survive this." Evangeline said steadily, with such poise and dignity that Nagi was given pause. "Why should I live on? What better end than this are there? I have seen centuries pass Nagi, centuries of nothingness. Why prolong it?" she smiled sadly. "Death is just one more path to travel."

"No..." Nagi begun, having been rejuvenated by the sheer, impossible surge of magic. His body was still ageing yet in his mind he was as strong, as devoted and as focused as when he had first gone into Malfeas' realm, even more so even. "I won't leave you like this, not after you..."

"Is that a threat or a pledge?" Eva chuckled, raising one hand and putting one finger on her lips. "Don't waste your time on me." she whispered. "Let me die like this. Let the world know how the dark evangel trapped you, how you fought me for all this time. If you care the least for me, let me die as I have lived, as the most terrible of all monsters."

"Eva..." Nagi begun only to be cut off.

"I told you didn't I?" Evangeline asked, "Good and evil does not exist. There is only power. I forged mine, became a legend, and it is my life's work. Now add me to the list of your victories... it is my gift to you." Nagi stopped her now, stepping forwards and capturing her, however this time gently. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her close, cheek against cheek.

"I'm sorry Eva." he whispered through gritted teeth. "I'm sorry for leaving you there. I wanted to fulfil that promise... I wanted to call you a friend."

"Then we never sought the same thing." Evangeline said, "But thank you..." her voice fell in volume at this, the immortal sorceress having to to do to control her voice. In the end, she pushed backwards, forcing Nagi to let go of her as to not make her crumble even more. "Good bye Nagi Springfield," Evangeline said, "Show the vermin standing against you what a true mage is capable of!" With that last, forceful exclamation, the vampiress threw herself backwards, down the gorge. Nagi stepped forwards, staring down into it and seeing how she vanished into it, falling apart as the air vent around her made her body collapse. After about a hundred meters there was nothing left of her.

Nagi stared down into the gorge, shock on his face. Slowly shaking his head, the thousand master tried to comprehend what just had happened. Evangeline... what she just had done had shocked, touched, horrified, dazzled him. It was first when his instincts got triggered by something coming at him that he could move. Spinning around with his hands up, he was ready to intercept whomever came at him. Yet, all he ended up doing was capturing a long stick of wood coming at him.

On a cliff higher up, a few dozen metres from him, a figure stood, looking down at him with one arm stretched out. It was the green haired gynoid, Chachamaru, who had been at Evangeline's side since day one of his torments. First now Nagi looked down at the staff, curious to see what it was, and to his amazement... it was his staff! The quarter staff he had lost years ago! Nagi was once again amazed and looked up at Chachamaru.

"My mistress tracked it down." the robot said, leaping down from the cliff. In her robotic face was not one trace of emotion as she landed in front of him. "Granicus is twelve hours of rapid flight north of here." she said, pointing to the north. Nagi looked towards the north, feeling the reassuring weight of the staff in his hand. Yet, he then realized, first now, the blood that covered his wrists and hands. Looking down, he saw how the reddish brown, dried blood covered him. His magic had stopped the blood flow only just. Chachamaru came up to him now. "Shall I tend to your wounds?" she asked.

Nagi ended up sitting down at the gynoid knelt by him, wiping his hands and wrapping the wounds in bandages. Nagi did not know what to make of this. On one side his mind was still occupied with Evangeline's death only moments ago and on the other the actions of the doll made him uncertain. Already he had understood that Chachamaru was a thinking, sensing, feeling being. Her actions now, carefully tending to the man who had killed her mistress made him worry. He felt like he had killed a little girl's mother and watched Chacharmaru's work in silence. He came to focus on her hands, delicate yet firm, as they worked on his wrists. She wiped the blood away with cotton and a cleaning solution, put compresses over the wrists and wrapped in bandages, efficiently and carefully. However...

"You're trembling..." he remarked after a second, realizing that the robot girl's hands were shivering. Looking up at her, he felt it almost like a punch in the guts when he saw that tears were rolling down her face. "... you're crying?" Chachamaru flinched now, reaching up to wipe her eyes.

"It... it is dust from your battle." she said, "My optical sensors were affected by it... they're cleaning themselves." she continued, looking away, moving her head as she tried not to meet his eyes. Nagi, however, only gritted his teeth. No... he wasn't buying it. Reaching down, he finished the last knot that kept the bandages in place and leaned in, wrapping his arms around her.

"It's tears." he said, "You cry, because you're sad." damn he was worthless at this.

"No..." Chachamaru begun, "mistress told me... years ago... she knew what was happening and informed me, I was aware this would happen, I have adapted to..."

"You don't adapt to the death of someone you love." Nagi told her, "It hurts, no matter how much you prepared for it. Let it out..." a sudden sob came from the gynoid, she was trembling like a leaf in his arms. "Let it out..." Nagi said again, Chachamaru now breaking down. She started crying, like a desolate child, and Nagi wrapped her close, held her as he tried to comfort her in whatever way he could. The girl clung to him, devastated by the death of Evangeline, and Nagi silently let her cry, feeling how her tears rolled down his chest. Slowly stroking her hair, he tried to come up with something, anything, he could do to comfort the girl he had just taken everything from. In the end, when Chachamaru's crying had abated, Nagi pushed her away, only so that he could look at her face. There was no red eyes or swelling, yet the trail of tears was evident.

"Do you have anywhere else to go?" he asked quietly, Chachamaru shaking her hand.

"No..." she said, "I... I need to be recharged daily... mistress gave me some batteries so I'd be able to get to Granicus and find a new master but..." Nagi felt a sting of sympathy in his heart for the girl and eventually he asked her.

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked. Chachamaru looked up at him now, Nagi almost overwhelmed by the openness and vulnerability in her eyes. She nodded at him, eagerly, and Nagi ended up smiling at her. For all the shit that had happened, this small spot of light made at least this moment good.

* * *

Nagi pushed the door open and with swift, confident strides he walked into the inn, Chachamaru at his side. They made a strange couple, even in the rough neighbourhood they were in. Nagi was clothed in only what rags they could salvage from the devastated temple while Chachamaru wore her maid clothes. Quite a few people noticed them and several pairs of eyes followed them as they walked up to the bar. Nagi ignored it however, he had more important things to do. The innkeeper thankfully didn't make a big deal out of his looks, only gave him a contemptuous look.

"Room and a bath." Nagi told him, dropping a well filled coin purse on the bar, "Is there a tailor in town?" the innkeeper's face instantly shifted from contempt to eagerness and he snatched the coin purse off the bar.

"Yes sir!" he said, "Shall I call her here?" Nagi nodded.

"Can I have some water as well?" Nagi asked now, ignoring the fact that several of the patrons chortled at his order. "Clean." he added and the bartender thankfully showed his professional side, within a few seconds Nagi had gotten it. The water was ice cold, crystal clear and revived him.

"Master..." Chachamaru whispered at him, "One of the patrons has risen, he's coming over here." Nagi sighed, both at Chachamaru's insistence to call him "master" despite his objections and the oncoming fight. Whatever it was, he had just stepped on someone's toes. He put down the glass just as a meaty hand landed on his shoulder. Looking back, he saw a bald, scarred face nearly as big as his entire torso right in front of him. The giant sneered at him.

"I don't like that mug o' yours." he growled, "Lemme get a shot at it." Nagi sighed internally. And of all the reasons it was something as stupid as this. The next second the man's fist came flying at him, Nagi not in the mood to play. Locking eyes with the man, he shoved at him with all the will and magic he had. The man's fist stopped in a heartbeat and he ended up, for a split second, just standing there. Choked grunts came from him as his entire body trembled. Then, he flew backwards, Nagi's violent mental/magical shove propelling him backwards into a wall. He hit it with a crash, making the entire house shake. With a groan, the man collapsed now, falling down to the floor as the wall now carried an imprint shaped like him.

"No." Nagi added now, leaning with his back against the bar desk. "I'm not here to play. Anyone else who wants to become wall furnishings while we're at it?" Several of the patrons had already gotten out of their seats, angry and shocked outbursts already filling the air. However at his words they all froze. For a few seconds the rough crowd only glared at him, yet in the end they sat down, muttering angrily but never the less taking care to not attract too much of his attention. Nagi shrugged and turned back to the bartender. "Now, how about that room?" he asked.

* * *

A few hours later Nagi, now cleaned up, wearing new clothes and having cut his hair into something roughly approximating order, came out from the inn. He flexed his shoulders, unused to the feeling of cloth against his skin. Yet, it was good to be back in normal clothing. He once again wore the black trousers, boots and shirt along with a white cloak that he usually wore. It felt like he was back in his natural skin, back for real. The only real difference was the short beard he wore now. He had decided to keep some of it, trimming it down to look somewhat civilized. He kept it as a memento of what had happened. Idly stroking it, he came to think of Chachamaru, who was standing right next to him. She had hardly said anything during all this time, Nagi supposing she had good reason for it. Still... he didn't want to add to it so he reached into his clothes and pulled out his purse (courtesy of the tailor as well). Taking out some bills from it, he handed them to her.

"Here." he said with a smile, putting them in her hand. Chachamaru looked at him, surprise in her eyes. "I'll go look for a friend of mine." he told her and closed her hand around the bills with his own, "You can take this chance to do something you want to do. There's a market down by the town square, go buy something you want, okay?" Chachamaru looked at him for a second before she took the bills and bowed to him, deeply enough to hide her face.

"Th...thank you master." she said and ran off, Nagi looking after her. Stupidly, he felt that old swelling in his heart, the same kind that he had once felt when taking care of Asuna. Asuna... yeah... he had to find his old friend, now preferably. Therefore, he begun to stake the bars and inns of Granicus, looking for the man as brutally as he could. Shaking down petty criminals, slapping people around until they answered etc. The art of making a huge bellend out of yourself was one he had mastered and it would make the news of him spreading swiftly. After only a pair of hours he had done enough if he knew his old friend properly. Therefore he sat down at an outdoor bar after a while, having announced pretty savagely that he was there. Ordering some more water, he decided to wait. Even after the three years he had spent in Eva's "care" he wasn't going to challenge fate by trying to drink alcohol. He still could feel the craving for it and wondered how much exactly he had been destroyed during those months of alcoholism.

It didn't take too long for the bait to be caught. Nagi could feel him even before he had entered the area. That raw, pounding sensation of unbound and unrelenting power, that of one of the so very few people who truly could be called his equal. Nagi tensed now, inadvertently smiling as he wondered how exactly his friend would say hi. Then, something came at him from the right, Nagi could feel it as keenly as could be. Yet, he was close to spin to face it but the fact that it came out of nowhere, literally, made him realize what it was. He therefore did nothing, just sat still and was therefore treated to the sight of his old friend moving to sit down right across the table with one lighting fast movement .If he had turned to face the sensation, he would have missed it .

"Show off." he smiled, Watching the giant that was Jack Rakan sitting right across from him. The giant, tanned gladiator with his white blonde hair and impossibly muscular frame grinned wolfishly as he looked at Nagi.

"Word's around town you've been looking for me skippy." the giant rumbled, Nagi first now realizing that the man didn't recognize him. Of course... with the hood up and the beard... this was so awesome! Nagi grinned as well, Rakan probably interpreting it as an answer to his grin. Quick, quick, what was he gonna say?

"It's been a long time, Jacobus." he begun, he couldn't think of anything better. At least the formal version of his name would throw him off course... hopefully. Rakan raised one eyebrow now, Nagi could see he didn't know who he was. A sudden burst of chi made him snap his hand up to hold onto his hood, Rakan tried to flick it off with a burst of air but nope, it was not gonna be that easy. "Ah, ah, ah." he scolded the man, "Not that easy." Rakan chortled.

"Hey, barmaid!" he bellowed now, "Gimmie a pint will ya?" the barmaid heard him, no doubt about that. Barmaids on the other side of town would have heard that. "And put it..." he begun.

"On his tab!" Nagi shot in, Rakan glancing back at him with a sour glint in his eyes.

"No trust whatsoever huh?" the giant asked with a smirk, saving his face in the situation. "So what did you want, hood-boy?"

"What have you been up to these last years Jacobus?" Nagi asked now, planning to hold onto this just a little longer. Nagi now reached up again, holding onto his hood one more time as Rakan made another attempt at it. "Still the same old pervert?" he continued. Rakan seemed to get even more annoyed now.

"What's your game little man?" the former gladiator asked now. "You're up to something and this is getting really boring. Nagi only grinned. He loved this! Loved it so much!

"Unused to role reversals?" he asked, "I know, it sucks when you're the one being yanked around, right?" Any more he was going to say was cut off when Chachamaru came up towards him. The girl seemed to have bought something, she was carrying a bag and had what seemed to be a small smile on her face. Nagi instantly looked towards her, Rakan noticing it. The lughead hadn't changed one bit it seemed, when Chachamaru walked past him he instantly moved, sweeping his hands to flip her skirt. The gust of wind that kicked up was accompanied by a frightened yelp from Chachamaru, her eyes widened in shock and fright, a reaction that was one hundred percent that of a young girl.

Nagi reacted at once. He was across the table in one instant, his fist swinging at Rakan and impacting before even this man, the greatest warrior in centuries, could do anything. Rakan was launched across the town square and impacted with the wall a dozen meters away, crashing through it cleanly. Nagi, meanwhile, landed next to Chachamaru and send a spiral of wind that pushed down her skirt again. Chachamaru's face showed her embarrassment and shame over what just had happened and Nagi put his hands on her shoulders, protectively.

Rakan came out of the rubble that once had been a wall, looking no worse to wear except for one small bruise on his face. However, his battle lust had been triggered and around him a bonfire of energy stood. His grin had turned savage and he was cracking his knuckles. The pressure he was exuding was enough to make the entire town square freeze. Nagi only pulled back his hood however, making Rakan freeze. His aura of energy died in an instant and his eyes widened.

"Nagi?" he asked, jaw hanging wide. Nagi felt a deep satisfaction now at the sight of the dumbstruck Rakan. His old friend didn't believe his eyes.

"How's it hanging Jack?" he asked now, delighting in his friend's face. "I've got a war coming up, was gonna check if you were interested." Rakan just stared at him and blinked once, twice, and first then remembered to shut his mouth. Then, an explosive Rakan-style laughter rung through the entire area. Overjoyed, Rakan walked up to him and picked Nagi off the floor almost like he was a child.

"I can't believe this!" the man thundered joyously, "Not only are you still alive, you're bringing me a war first thing you do!" Putting Nagi down, he ruffled his hair with a wide grin. "So who are we up again this time huh?"

"Megalomesembria." Nagi told him, Rakan blinking again.

* * *

Ariadne, the great city of learning. Mightiest amongst the western city states and a city as magnificent as any other. For centuries, this had been the foremost of all cities when it came to learning, even death would be welcome here as long as its intent was learning. Yet, for the two men and the gynoid walking through the great citadel of the valkyrie knights as it was, their intent was all but that. Having arrived only minutes ago, they had immediately come here, to the central offices of Ariadne's ruler, who also was the headmaster of this academy. Valkyrie trainees and knights both looked after them as they moved through the hallways, Nagi unaccustomed to having people staring at him like this after all these years. He could hear the whispers.

"Jack Rakan... it's really him... but who... that other? You think... oh heavens... what if... it must be." the whispers blended around him and Nagi, for the first time in his life, actually felt uncomfortable about it. He pulled the hood a little tighter down his face, something Jack noticed in an instant.

"Are we uncomfortable now all of a sudden Nagi-chan?" the man asked as he leaned in, patting Nagi on the shoulder with enough force to send a lesser man to the floor. Nagi only shrugged.

"Would you believe it?" he muttered. "I need to get out more." he added sourly .Jack laughed loudly at this. It was weird... last time he had walked here had been over fifteen years ago, during the end of the schismatic war. He had come to gather support from one of the few nations that still had some fighting power left, from Ariadne and her the valkyrie knights. Back then he had beeen amazed by their tenacity and courage, now all too many of them seemed to be recent examinees or people right about to. Nagi couldn't help but remember how many of them had died during those final battles, often while led by him. Would they be game for another of those campaigns? He just hoped he could sweet talk the headmaster. Rounding a corner of the marble-covered hallway, they eventually reached the main offices. If possible, this section was even more ostentatious than the rest of the academy. The normally smooth surface of the marble pillars were here filled with gold inlays, as was the polished floor. At least the hallways had shrunken in size somewhat, now you only could parade five elephants on a row through them here instead of ten.

"I will wait outside master." Chachamaru said, Nagi looking back at her.

"Whaaat?" he asked, making a face of exasperation at her ."Of course not, you're part of the crimson wing at the moment, you're coming with us." Chacha blinked at this, embarrassment settling on her face again.

"Oi, oi." Rakan cut in now, leaning in to look at Nagi and Chachamaru both. "You sure about that? Yeah the old wing was a sausage fest, no doubt about that, but can she really keep up?" Nagi smiled and put one hand on Chachamaru's head.

"Believe you me she can." he said. He had spent years being chased by her after all, he had a good grip on the gynoid's abilities. Chachamaru didn't say anything, only kept blushing. Damn she was cute wasn't she? Like a little kitten at times.

Nagi was grateful he had bought her some other clothes, most importantly a couple of actual trousers. Rakan was as much of a pervert as always and Chachamaru's recharging process didn't help. He wondered just how much of a sadist Eva had been with that whole thing, If he had made a robot he wouldn't have gotten the idea to make her get off when recharging her... okay maybe he would have, Rakan was a bad influence. Either way, it made him feel dirty and Chachamaru wanted to die from embarrassment every time. Rakan had had the time of his life there however, that was also the reason why Chachamaru wore a sweater and trousers now, it made her less exposable that way. She still was very good looking though Nagi had felt like an angry father fending of drooling idiots at every turn.

This really was something he did huh? Pick up strays and become almost a father to them... yet his real son had been abandoned... Nagi wondered how much he had hated being forced to things back then. That was it, as stupid as it was it was the simple fact that he couldn't choose whether or not to become a father that had made him kick back. It was so stupid...

Finally reaching the office of the academy headmaster, they were stopped by two young guards, one of them a black-haired, pale-faced human with a placid look on his face and the other a blonde, tanned helassi with something proud in her eyes.

"Halt!" the latter said, "State your business with the headmaster." Nagi decided to do it big and pulled back his hood, showing his face. The look on the girl's face went from stern to shocked in an instant.

"You think Seras can spare a few moments?" he asked with a smirk, watching how the girl silently stepped to the side, opening the door within a second. Her face had paled and there was something frantic in her movements.

"_Ten drachma says she's in the fan club." _Nagi said via telepathy to Rakan, who shook his head.

"_No bet." _he answered. Inside the massive office, behind her large desk in the large chair headmaster Seras of Ariadne sat. The proud knight who had fought beside him and the crimson wing in those last battles had aged quite a bit, some wrinkles had appeared in her proud face and parts of her blonde hair had begun to grey. He supposed the same went for him. Was he greying? He had to check that out soon...

"It's been too long, Nagi Springfield." she said, her voice low as always and now with a tint of... he would have called it age, but as it was it made him more think of wisdom.

"Sounds like you knew we were coming." he grinned at his old acquaintance. Seras smiled with a nod.

"My sources told me that you picked up Rakan in Granicus and headed north. The news of your reappearance is already spreading all over the world. After your appearance three years ago in the skies of Mahora after not being heard of for a decade people have already begun to consider your appearance as a sign of great things to come."

"Cool!" Nagi grinned, "I'm a herald of destiny now? Beat that if you can Jack!" he grinned at his friend, who flipped him off. Seras chuckled before she conjured some chairs for them to sit in.

"I recognize Jack, but who is your lady friend?" she asked now. Nagi was about to answer but Chachamaru beat him to it.

"I am named Chachamaru." she said mechanically, "Formerly a possession of Evangeline McDowell. Master Springfield killed her recently and took me as a trophy." Nagi got cold at this and was just about to vehemently correct her when Chachamru contacted him telepathically.

"_My mistress orders are absolute."_ she told him, _"Her orders to me was to make sure you received the credit for her death. It was her gift to you. I stand by this opinion, master." _there was something steely in her voice and Nagi bit his tongue. As stupid as it sounded, she was right. Eva would have wanted that... damn it!Seras face betrayed her shock now.

"Evangeline...?" she asked. Nagi internally sighing.

"Yeah." he shrugged, "I was kinda weak after Mahora, she got hold of me and I spent three years there. Managed to get loose first now. Anyway." he said now, sitting down along with the others, wanting to leave this matter behind. "I suppose that title I've gotten is dead on here." Seras sighed and Nagi nodded. "Yeah..." he begun.

"You misunderstand me." Seras said, "It wasn't that I sighed at. I have a good guess as to what this matter is about... We have stayed out of it for the longest time, yet it seems the time has come to make that call." Nagi realized what she was talking about. Unlike him, Seras was in the middle of politics as it was. Obviously she'd know what was going on. The door at the side of the office opened now and a hooded figure stepped into the room. Nagi looked to the side as the figure pulled back her hood. To his surprise, she revealed herself to be Theodora, the third princess of the Hellas empire.

"Oi!" Jack exclaimed, "It's the shrimpy third princess!" the man said with a booming voice. Theodora, once a feisty little firecracker that had gone toe to toe with Jack, only rolled her eyes however. She seemed to have grown quite a lot, in more than one way...

"Yes," Seras said, "She arrived here as soon as we heard you were coming here."

"It's been too long, sir Springfield." the princess said, bowing her head and Nagi responded in kind. "You never cease to amaze it seems."

"That's what I do best." Nagi shrugged.

"So it seems." Theodora said, "After your reappearance at Mahora and subsequent disappearance the rumours flourished. Yet you seem to have outdone them all. Not once did I hear someone suggest you had been captured by the dark evangel."

"That's me..." Nagi begun, starting to get irritated. These people were big on formalities, true, but he kinda was in a hurry here!

"Indeed." Theodora said, Nagi cutting her off now.

"Megalomesembria is slaughtering their way through Vespertatia." he said. "Last numbers I saw put the civilian casualties at about one million. And for what? Their excuses are bullshit, they're into this for simple greed and I'm not going to let them finish this .They already murdered Takamichi and Eishun's daughter, along with many others, and they're paying for it, one way or another. If you're still the people I remember, you know this." Screw being polite. Nagi went all out. "I'm going to stop them." he said, "If not for Takamichi and Eishun's baby then for the countless people that's died because of them. If not for that then for the fact that Megalomesembria is trying to become a superpower and that they'll if anything gun for you next. You game or not?" Neither Seras nor Theodora met his eyes now, both of them looking away. Seras into her desk and Theodora out of the window. Nagi sat silent however, waiting for their answers.

"Ariadne and Hellas both suffered immensely in the war." Seras said after a while. "Of the valkyries that went with you, not one in twenty returned home. It's been called the lost generation and only first now are we back to pre-war numbers. And that's numbers, not strength. Hellas lost nearly half its armed forces and millions of civilians. Meanwhile, Megalomesembria has already become the predominant superpower in the world, where Hellas and Megalomesembria once were equals the empire now only has a third of Megalomesembria's armed forces, not to mention that they don't have the kind of technological advantages Megalomesembria has gained during these years. Moreover... neither of our peoples want more war. Megalomesembria didn't see their cities burn like the empire did, nor did nearly all of their soldiers die in a single campaign. They have been spared the deepest horrors and hunger for it now. Our peoples wasn't and don't."

"What do you think Vespertatia is?" Nagi asked. "If you need more power I'm right here! Jack and I pushed back your front lines single handedly during the war, Albiero and Eishun will join us as well!"

"And that can even the scales, but what then?" Theodora asked. "Then we get bogged down in another drawn out war against the world's greatest superpower? Lose countless lives to war once again? We said, all said, after the schismatic war, never again. The loss in lives, the loss in resources and equipment, the loss in honour and humanity. Our empire will break if that happens again."

"It won't!" Nagi exclaimed. "Isn't Megalomesembria in upheaval over this? They've already split their nation in two over this. Ricardo is leading the parts of that nation that doesn't want any of this."

"And what better way to unite them again than giving them a common enemy?" Seras asked, "A real enemy?"

"What better way to end it?" Nagi growled. "Or is that it? You're just gonna wait it all out as the last survivor of the family that's the reason this actually ended dies!"

Do you think it makes us happy?" Theodora exclaimed now, "We want to do something, but we can't! Not without making our nations a target! If we fail this, it's right back to the schismatic war!"

"Then let's make sure it won't!" Nagi retorted. "Seras... Theo... Give me your support. Let me lead your knights and your black fleet against them. I will end this in one strike, no matter what. Your soldiers won't have to all die or lose their honour in a pointless massacre. It will end, I promise."

Seras sighed and exchanged a glance with Theodora, the two women musing on what he had said. In the end Seras nodded slowly and Theodora looked at Nagi.

"On one condition." she said, "You stay here until the fleet is assembled. We can't tip them off you're with us. Deal?"

"Deal." Nagi said, feeling how the relief flooded him. Thank god... they had accepted. He'd have to stomach it...

"_Hang in there princess..." _he thought to himself, _"I'm coming for you. I promise..."_

* * *

Activating the recording on the letter, Nagi begun to speak. This would be the thirtieth attempt at recording it .He had time and time again tried to find the right words. After hours, however, he had managed to come up with something. Not perfect, but there were no perfection in these things.

"I don't know how to start this letter." he begun, speaking with a soft voice. "What do you say when something like this happens? There's nothing that can make this better. Still... I know what it's like, in a way, and I am so sorry this had to happen. I cannot offer comfort beyond that, but I can offer revenge. I am right now in Ariadne, gathering allies to strike back at the ones who did this. Asuna is still fighting, and if fate is willing, we will have assembled in time to help her. We'll stop them, make sure they never hurt anyone else again. What they've tried to achieve... what Konoka gave her life to prevent, will not come to pass. I will see to it, I swear. If you are able, I will welcome your blade once again. It will not dull the pain, but it will make what she died for more meaningful. That's all I can give you my friend. Thank you, and once again know that I'm sorry." Finishing the recording, Nagi sighed deeply. Folding the paper and putting it into an envelope, he then proceeded to record the second letter. This one was so much more simple.

"Al." he begun, "You know what's happened. I'm gonna make them pay for it. Their ambitions stop, now. If you're able, get to Ariadne within the month's end. Be there, or be square. I'll see you."

* * *

"And that's what happened." Nagi finished his story, "It took a rough month for the entire fleet to assemble. I wanted to get to you as soon as possible, yet I couldn't. I should have gotten here sooner, I should have followed you three years ago. But I couldn't... I was too weak, too much of a coward... and I only hope I can earn your forgiveness, one way or another."

Asuna didn't look at him. The princess was staring down at the bed, her hair obscuring her eyes. Yet, her breath was ragged and unsteady. A hissing sound came from her as she breathed through clenched teeth and a single tear fell from her obscured eyes, landing on the white sheet covering her. Nagi looked at her, pain in his eyes, and eventually he slowly reached out, touching one of her hands. Asuna took it in hers quickly, clenching it as the breath only became even more ragged. Nagi understood and leaned in now, taking her in his arms. Now Asuna broke down, clutching onto the thousand master she cried. The grief overwhelmed her and she couldn't do anything other than hold onto the man who had saved her many years ago and now had done it again. Bitterness faded, replaced by the gratitude and almost daughter-like love she felt for him.

Fate, meanwhile, quietly got off his footstool and left the room. The construct could tell he was not needed as it was. This was an intimate moment, items like him had no place there. He therefore left his master and her father figure alone and walked out into the corridor, closing the door behind him soundlessly. He then noticed something in the corner of his eye and looked towards it. There, he saw a green-haired girl with unmistakable robotic antennas instead of ears. She was standing only a few meters away, seemingly waiting for someone. Fate realized it had to be the Chachamaru Nagi had taken in. Chachamaru now looked towards him as well, their gazes meeting. In the end, Chachamaru bowed politely at him, Fate returning the greeting.

"Fate Averruncus." he introduced himself now, deciding to keep up manners.

"Chachamaru Karakuri." the gynoid answered. Fate was surprised by her voice. It was much more human than he had expected. Bar the slight, mechanical vibrato to it it seemed as filled with emotions as any human voice he had heard. It made him intrigued...

"I was told of you." he said, "Nagi-san told us of your nature."

"That I am a puppet, yes." the gynoid answered.

"So am I." Fate answered, "While the materials are different, I am as much a construct as you."

"Really?" Chachamaru asked now, a slight delay to her voice.

"Indeed." Fate answered. "Your owner will be preoccupied for the foreseeable future. Has he permitted you to move freely?"

"He has." Chachamaru answered and Fate nodded to himself.

"May I give you a tour of the resistance?" he asked now. It would be for the best if the Thousand Master had a database on the resistance, Fate had nothing better to do than to supply his construct with one.

"Thank you." Chachamaru said and Fate motioned for her to follow him down the hall. The two vanished down it in silence, however in the other direction of the corridor, right around a corner, a cloaked, hooded man had listened in on the discussion. Albiero Imma processed what he just had heard with a small smile on his face. As much as the world was bleak right now, this small part of it had quite the potential. Albiero suddenly found himself very eager for the war to end, the potential amusement here was quite frankly enormous.

Oh well: that would come eventually, one way or another. As it was, there was only war. Albiero turned around and left the other way. He hated the fact that once again he was at war. He had seen too much of it, and that it had happened here, in peace-loving Vespertatia, was even worse. The soldiers he had seen this far... would they even be able to live in peace any more? Only time would tell... and Albiero was not too optimistic.


	24. Rage and horror

**Chapter 24: Rage and horror**

* * *

The ominous black fleet of Hellas was visible in the far distance. Like a front of deep black storm clouds they flew over the yellow fields below, in a loose formation, gracefully and swiftly yet still with force and power unequalled in this blasted war-torn nation. It was something almost serene over it, something that could almost make one forget it was a massive army advancing at top speed. At the least provocation they could spew out a tidal wave of death and light against anything within several kilometres' range. And Ricardo was flying straight towards them...

Seated in a small, two-man shuttle, the man was flying alone towards an entire army of his country's enemies. One hand on the steering control, he silently thought about what awaited him. An audacious move like this could go anywhere from splendidly to disastrously. Worse case scenario, they'd blow him out of the sky before he had a chance to contact them. Thank the fates he had gotten communications equipment installed in it. He'd display his signature clearly. Soon they'd contact him, hopefully at least.

Ricardo was used to pulling crazy stunts, but the complete lack of a plan, backup, equipment and everything else made him uneasy. A fight he could handle well, but despite his facility with diplomacy and politics he never felt like he really got it. He couldn't know what would await and it unsettled him. He was, when it came down to it, afraid, terrified, but there was no turning back.

As if on cue, the communications equipment begun to sound. Ricardo sighed deeply before he activated the speaker.

"We have you in range, identify yourself or be shot down." a hoarse voice said. The Hellas navy wasn't horsing around. They were charging in his direction and wouldn't be held up for anything. He spoke up, knowing that his life could end within seconds if he did it poorly.

"This is Senator Jean-Luc Ricardo." he begun, "Representative of the Megalomesembric senate in exile. I come to negotiate the surrender of our forces in Vespertatia with her highness, princess Asuna of the house of Entheofushia. I am transmitting my identification codes at this time" The answer made the man on the other end fall silent and Ricardo waited. Hopefully that would work. Giving the name of a legendary war hero, dropping the magical word "surrender" and addressing the princess by her actual name instead of the one the progressives had insisted on using to discredit her. All those things could push in the right direction. Hopefully, it'd be enough.

"Hold your current position and await our reply." came from the other end and Ricardo slowed down, silently waiting for their answer. This was a good sign, that meant the higher ups were informed of his approaching. There was no answer from the comm for over a minute and Ricardo focused on breathing as anxiety filled him, almost enough to choke him. The ships in the distance crawled closer and closer. He could already make out some details on the larger ships. Please let it work he begged to whomever would listen.

"Senator Ricardo." a new voice said, this one smoother. "Your clearance code checks out. Take up the route we are transmitting to your vessel now. The princess had been made aware of you and is awaiting your presence aboard the "Lancea Draconis". Ricardo released the air in his lungs with an almost explosive breath of relief. The easy, if risky, part was over. Now came the negotiations... Ricardo activated the autopilot and mentally went through what awaited. He held no illusions about the welcome he could expect. He was a megalomesembrian, a devil in human form to most vespertatians. And for the princess... Her family's death due to Megalomesembrian aggression many years ago, nearly a million of her people dead now due to their unlawful occupation of her homeland. She if anyone would have so much reason to hate him vehemently that it wasn't even funny. Hopefully, maybe, he could soothe the worst of her rage. Otherwise this would be some very short negotiations.

The shuttle he was flying slowly made its way towards the fleet, soon pulling up alongside the Lancea Draconis, the black hammerhead shark-like flagship of the Hellas empire. Compared to his old ship, the Svanhvit, it wasn't too impressive. But then, Hellas had not aimed at raw power for their skyfleet for centuries. Their doctrines consisted of quick ships, supply raiding and destroying their enemies piecemeal. Considering that, the Lancea Draconis was almost overly big. Only almost however, she was still lethally swift and unpredictable. One of the hangars on the side of the ship opened and Ricardo watched his ship slowly fly into the belly of the enormous black battle cruiser.

When his ship had landed and Ricardo stepped out he was immediately faced by several heavily armoured and armed Hellas elite soldiers, faceless behind their monstrously heavy bronze armours. A dozen all in all, not nearly enough to defeat him if he begun to fight. However the person standing in front of them was a totally different matter. A young man, little more than a boy in a way, with pale skin, silver hair and blue eyes. He wore a simply blue suit and had a controlled posture. His eyes showed little emotion as well, yet his presence was overwhelming. Ricardo could feel instantly that this young man, whoever he was, was immensely powerful. He proceeded to bow to him.

"I take it you are my escort?" he asked. In response, the young man nodded.

"The princess is awaiting your presence." he said as the guards stepped forwards, forming a circle around him. Ricardo silently followed, feeling the tension in the air. Thank the fates he had a Hellas escort, knowing all that had happened, he would prefer to not have to face Vespertatian soldiers. He didn't doubt their professionalism or devotion, but neither their deep hatred of him and his people.

Walking through the halls of the ship, he came to think of how much the eighty-first would give to get a good look at it. The depths of the Hellas skyfleet's most deadly and advanced ship, he couldn't help but look around in a feeling of near giddiness. He focused back to the task at hand eventually however, the hate-filled looks given to him by several men and women walking past him making it clear what they thought of him. The vespertatians seemed to have integrated well with the Hellas forces. Good for them, bad for Megalomesembria.

The young man came to a halt outside one of the doors and turned to face Ricardo, who also stopped. The silence was oppressive, almost overly so, and the tension taut as a piano string. Eventually the silver-haired young man opened the door and stepped inside With Ricardo behind him.

"The Megalomesembric ambassador Jean-Luc Ricardo your highness." the young man introduced him as Ricardo got a good look on the princess for the first time ever.

She was pale, seemingly weak, as if she was recovering from some grievous injury. Currently she sat in an armchair facing the door, wearing a flowing deep green dress. Her orange hair flowed down the sides of her pale face, framing her in a burning halo. She would have seemed gentle, serene, yet in her eyes there was nothing but anger, resentment, even hatred. Ricardo could see it, she hated him, like she hated every last of his kin, and if she chose right now, she'd go for slitting his throat and massacring his people, that fiercely her hate burned. Ricardo decided to go all out.

"Your highness." he said humbly, choosing to go down to one knee and bend his head, putting one hand to the floor. "It is a great shame we have to meet like this." he continued.

"Like this you say?" the girl asked. Her voice was calm, yet it was still filled with anger, with vitriol, on a level that gave him pause. Not even during the schismatic war had he heard such venom.

"Yes, after so many years of your nation's undue suffering." he said, playing it cool. "I wish none of this would have come to past.

"And it only took you thirteen years to notice." the girl drawled sarcastically. "What will you discover next? That water is wet?"

"I have no excuses to give." Ricardo said, "And I come here, much too late, to negotiate for a cease fire that should have taken place years ago."

"So what are your terms?" the princess asked, leaning back in her chair as she clasped her hands together in her lap. Ricardo hoped that this still could work, somehow it had to.

"That all Megalomesembric forces in Vespertatia at this time will be pulled out immediately, that Megalomesembria will abstain from any and all claims on anything on this side of the great bridge and that we will pay significant war reparations for the damages caused in this conflict."

"A quite imprecise word, significant." the pale-faced boy remarked, Ricardo bowing his head in agreement.

"We stand at the brink of civil war." he admitted. "Until this crisis is resolved, I dare not speculate in what aid we will be able to give. I can however swear that we will pay as much as we are able. Rebuild Vespertatia's former strength at least, more if possible. "

"And in return?` Asuna asked.

"I ask only that you give us back the soldiers and equipment captured by your forces thus far and do not commit any further aggressions against Megalomesembria. In return, we will as I said abandon all claims to Vespertatia and rebuild the nation we've unjustly tormented for all these years."

"No." Asuna said, Ricardo freezing. Something cold filled him and he found himself unable to act. "There won't be peace." she continued, "Not this fast. Look at me." Ricardo did, with considerable difficulties, and saw her placid face and the cold fury in her eyes. "One million, you piece of shit." she continued, her voice low and steady. "One million of my countrymen have died due to you and your greed. You are not getting out of that this easily."

"Your highness." Ricardo whispered, desperate. This was not going well! Asuna cut him off however.

"Don't worry about the black fleet." Asuna said, "Hellas will stop where you wanted them to. My people won't however. As we speak I'm in negotiations with the Tantalus separatists, you can't imagine how eager they are to go on the offensive before your senate can try to reclaim the province. The Kadeshi are already advancing on your southwestern shores, several war bands are heading north right now to link up with us, as well as some Granicus mercenary legions. The Canis Niger bounty hunters are salivating at the thought of getting a shot at all those senators in the capitol during the chaos that'll soon come. The Transcendent guild has quite the beef to pick with your academies after the pillaging of their libraries. And even if the black fleet won't attack, how many Hellas veterans do you think hate you enough to gladly come along on this as volunteers? Hint: it's in the five-digits. When we're done your capitol will not exist any more."

"I beg you your highness!" Ricardo hissed, "This far you've held the virtuous position in this war! It is we who will bear the shame when all this is over, as we so rightly deserve! Do not sink to our level, don't recreate the fall of Ostia!" Ricardo felt a blaze of energy and looking up, he was just in time to see a back-hand biting into his face, sending him spinning through the air. He had taken more violent hits, wouldn't be seriously injured, but as he hit the wall, he nevertheless felt the pain keenly, yelling out in pain.

Asuna now stood up, blazing with energies beyond magic. Ricardo recognized it, it was kanka, Gateau Kagura Vandenberg's and Takahata Takamichi's art. Her eyes, meanwhile, was now blazing as fiercely but a thousand million times more coldly.

"Sorry you shit," she sneered, "After all, we're nothing but terrorists, isn't that what you've vomited up for years on end? I've given up trying to hold any moral high ground on you, the only high ground I'll hold from now on is the ground surrounding the pit in which your charred corpses will be buried!" she screamed, her hate permeating the air and actually constricting his throat. "Throw him in a cell!" Asuna now snarled, "Bang him against some walls while you're at it!" the pale young man was upon him and Ricardo couldn't react before he had put some kind of paper strip on him after which Ricardo lost all his magic, all his power. It simply vanished from him, cut him off from it and left him empty. Asuna towered above him, the pale young woman's look filled with an ocean of hatred, anger, disgust, contempt, the entire spectrum. "When we swarm over your capitol I'll have you nailed to the front of my flagship." she said as Ricardo was dragged off the floor and out of the room, "Reap what you sow you son of a whore," was the princess' parting words, "And this time you sowed death!"

Ricardo was dragged out of the room, feeling numb as he roughly was taken away from her highness. Despair flooded him, cold sweat started to run down his face. His magic was sealed and he had seen the hate in the princess eyes'. By heaven's grace... Gritting his teeth and clenching his eyes shut, he found himself shivering. That hate he had seen in the princess' eyes... the capitol would burn...his beloved city was doomed! That hatred wouldn't stop until there was nothing left to destroy. He had failed... begging for his countrymen to forgive him, he limply was dragged out of the chamber and down the corridor to his waiting cell. It was then that he heard a voice he never had expected to hear.

"Ricardo!" his eyes snapped open and he looked back to see a sight that made his heart skip a beat. It was the Crimson Wing! He saw Konoe Eishun and Albiero Imma first, with Jacobus Rakan right behind them. However in front of them, with a beard that first made him not fully recognize him, was Nagi Springfield! The thousand master! It was him! Ricardo suddenly found himself frantic. Pushing against the grip of the people holding him, he managed to get to his feet.

"Nagi!" he yelled frantically, seeing the shock in the thousand master's eyes. "You have to stop her! The princess." He was stopped now when his guards hit him in the stomach with the end of their glaves. "Ugh!" he yelled out in pain, however he kept going, "She'll burn Mega to the ground! You have to convince her." now the guards slammed him into the wall. Stars exploded in front of his eyes and everything became blurry. "Stop her! She'll drag this war on for years!" Once again he was slammed into the wall, soon feeling the blood in his mouth. "Stop her! For all our sakes, or there'll be another great war!" Now the guards seemed to have gotten enough and the third time he was slammed into the wall he was knocked out, sinking into the darkness within an instant.

Nagi, meanwhile, watched the elite guards brutalize his old senator friend with shock in his eyes. Without any mercy or respect they beat the crap out of the famous war hero, while he was restrained as well! What the hell? He moved up to do something but the pale-faced Fate appeared between the guards and him, cutting him off with a glacial glare.

"Don't interfere." he said as his hand landed on Nagi's chest, holding him back, "They are acting on her highness' orders. It's not your place to interfere."

"Place, schmace." Nagi growled, shoving at him, "You think I'm just gonna let you do that?" Fate didn't step back, he held his ground and the intensity in his eyes only grew.

"Either that or you can leave this fleet." he said, meeting Nagi's burning anger with his own ice. "This is not the schismatic war and you are not the figurehead after whose strings we will dance. The princess is our leader and she has made her decision. Get in line or get out of the way."

"Don't you put your ideas in her mouth!" Nagi hissed, convinced that this guy was carrying the cards here. It was just like during the schismatic war! The rulers being used as puppets by some bastard with his own agenda! He had to act quickly here. "I won't believe a word coming from your mouth before I've checked with her!"

"Fine." Asuna's voice cracked like a whip even though it was almost frighteningly calm. Looking back, Nagi saw Asuna stand in the doorway, her eyes cold as ice. "The capitol of Megalomesembria will burn." she told him, "I'll have that shitty city wiped from the map, blow down the skyscrapers, make gravel out of the floating islands, you name it."

"P... are you out of your mind princess?" Nagi couldn't believe his ears. To hear that ice old hatred, it made Nagi sick to his stomach. Looking at Asuna now... Nagi couldn't believe that such deep hatred was in her eyes. It permeated the air around her, filled it with a cold, shivering feeling, almost choking in its vile intensity. Asuna only glared at him. "God damn it," he begun, "When you've gotten your nation freed, will you attack them the first thing you do? That'll be suicide! I could only convince the black fleet to liberate Vespertatia. You'll stand alone if you try to counter-attack!"

"No I won't." Asuna said, unfazed by Nagi's outburst. "The Kadeshi, several legions of Granicus mercenaries, the Canis Niger, the Transcendent Guild, I've got backup enough." Nagi blinked, first in shock, then in horror.

"Are you... are you serious?" he took one step forwards now, only to be cut off by Fate once again. "Are you out of your bloody mind!" he yelled, "Slavers, psychopaths who do anything for money and magic world eugenicists? Are you throwing in your lot with that kind of people?"

"Yes." Asuna told him, her voice increasing slowly in volume, "I'd throw my lot in with anyone. Those whoresons won't get away with this unharmed. They've defiled my people for thirteen years, devastated my nation. The bergafolk will never regain their old greatness, already they have to become part of us or become extinct, not one person in this nation hasn't lost someone to them, not one town, village or city hasn't suffered! If you think they won't pay in blood and horror for this then you're an even bigger idiot than I thought!" she was screaming at the end, her eyes blazing with hate as the power begin to swirl around her, tendrils of pure hatred making the air around her shiver and Nagi found himself staring at the girl in horror. It was as if darkness swallowed her up and all he could see was her blazing, hate-filled eyes, eyes that would accept nothing but the screams of countless dying to placate it. "I don't care about their whining for mercy, where was the mercy when they tried to murder me for existing? Where was their acceptance when they branded my faith heresy and a terrorist network? Their forgiveness when they burned towns to the ground because of one person fighting them? Their tolerance when they murdered us by the thousands? They made us less than human, animals, property to be used as they saw fit! They don't deserve to live, be it that they worked for this or accepted it! Megalomesembria will burn for it!" Nagi had taken a step back at the end of this, not being able to process this. To see Asuna, the once ever so sweet and upbeat girl now consumed by such endless, pure, hatred, made him sick, ashamed, angry yet most of all afraid. This Asuna... he feared her, feared what she could do. What was he going to do?

"You're adamant in that?" he asked, keeping it cool, Asuna only looked at him, the hate still blazing in her. "Then I can't go along with this." he said through clenched teeth. "I'm sorry princess, I didn't save you just to let another massacre happen at your hands."

"Sure." Asuna snarled, "crawl off to the hole you came out of! Negi didn't need you and I don't either! Not now! Do as you always do and abandon people you call family!" Nagi shook, almost as if he had been hit, as Asuna's remark cut into the depths of his soul. His eyes welled up and he almost broke down, the pain still being felt so keenly. Asuna, meanwhile, wasn't done. She turned to the rest of the crimson wing, "And you? She asked, "You're crawling away with him? Leaving Takamichi unavenged?" Nagi spun around now, walking away from her as he tried to keep calm. He couldn't listen to this. The others joined up behind him. All of them had lived through the schismatic war and knew what awaited, they couldn't take part in this. Asuna wasn't done though. "you'll leave Konoka unavenged?" she continued and at this Eishun froze. Nagi looked back as well, seeing how Eishun looked back at Asuna, who still stood at the doorway to her room, Fate by her side.

"Konoka died saving my life." Asuna continued, "She died so the Megalomesembrians wouldn't win. They took her, from you, from me, from all of us. Are you fine with leaving it at that. The sweetest girl in the world, murdered by this dogs. And you'll just leave it?" Eishun's hand clenched around his sword and he looked down. Nagi felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, watching the back of his friend.

"Eishun..." he begun, still reeling at the situation. Like a dark, seductive queen of malice Asuna stood, surrounded by an aura of pure hatred. Her honeyed yet blunt words cut into his friend, tempting him towards the darkness into which Asuna had fallen. Nagi couldn't oppose her. Not her of all people, then he would have fallen totally. If he had to fight Asuna as well as he had Negi he'd rather kill himself. Yet... he had to say something. "It isn't what Konoka would have wanted."

"No..." Eishun said, his voice hollow. "But I don't care." With that, he slowly stepped over to Asuna, bowing his head. "you have my sword." he said, his voice that of a defeated, broken man who had lost all that mattered to him. Nagi looked back at the sight and after a few seconds, Eishun didn't look back at him, he turned around and left, fighting to not let the grief and fear overwhelm him. Behind him he left his second child, now like the first fallen into a darkness from which he, weak and useless, found no way to save her.

* * *

Asuna couldn't stop the smile spreading over her face, almost making her face split in half from the glee. Her eyes were wide and her breath had quickened as she watched the beautiful sight in front of her. The capitol of Megalomesembria, greatest of all cities in the magical world, centre of one of the oldest nations in the magical world and the strongest of them all, the great centre of learning, the industrial powerhouse, the unparalleled and the radiant, was burning. Not the fires from lights, magic lamps or any such thing. But instead the hungry, devouring flames of destruction. It crawled up the buildings, along the streets, catching every last bit of plastic, wood or any other flammable material in its hungry maws, devouring it all with the roar and the flickering of a total inferno. From the blood-stained sky above, blazes of hellfire descended upon the dying, bleeding city, powerful magic meteors slamming into the naked buildings, shattering the floating islands and plunging into the bay in front of it. Neither strong metal nor ancient stone trapped in the maws of this raging, demonic cataclysm escaped the murderous firestorm. All was aflame and amongst the roaring of the fires, the screeching of metal, the shattering of glass and the rumbling of fallen stone, she heard the desperate screams. Thousands upon thousands of people, running in blind fear as the city around them came apart and fell into oblivion.

They screamed, like animals they screamed. In horror, grief and panic they screamed and their screams were like the fairest music music to her ears. They tried to flee down the roads, yet the fires raining down from the torn-open skies above caused storms, no, tidal waves of flame to spill down the streets and blocking off passages with insurmountable, burning barricades. They tried to flee in the sky, yet the terrible drafts created from the countless infernos tossed them around, throwing even the best broom riders and shuttle pilots around like mere leaves in the wind, sending them crashing into the burning buildings. They tried to escape into the bay, one last desperate venue of escape. Yet the fires from above boiled the water instantly, making them thrash and sink screaming hoarsely into the giant sizzling hot bay of Megalo bay.

Asuna found herself hiding her mouth behind her hands, watching the spectacle beneath her giggling in sheer joy at the sight. This vile monstrosity, who she herself once had found so dazzling, so perfect, no indeed as if it was heaven itself, and later come to hate as the epicentre of the giant, bloated cancer tormenting her people, was being wiped from the face of this world. It would never regain its splendour which at the moment turned to ashes below her from the giant battleship upon which she stood, rising above the chaos like standing upon an altar of death. When her vengeance was over all that would remain would be a blasted, scarred wasteland where nothing ever would live again. Caught in the throes of the chaos created below, she found herself spinning around as if led by some invisible partner, taking several dancing steps as the manic, overwhelming joy filled her. Tens of thousands of murdered Vespertatians, Takahata-sensei! Kotaro! Even Konoka! Everyone! Their voices screaming out for vengeance finally fell silent as their deaths were avenged! Asuna looked down upon the inferno and have gave up an overjoyed shout of sheer delight and looked down again. The fires were almost hypnotic in their beauty, and she held onto herself wrapping her arms around her robed body as she almost felt the tears run down her face.

"Yes..." a voice whispered behind her. Slow, seductive and calm, the male voice stood on the bridge with her, coming up towards her. Asuna didn't look to see who it was, being too wrapped up in the beautiful spectacle below her. The writhing, twisting and dying city was the most beautiful thing she had seen and she was so consumed by watching it scream in its death throes that she didn't react to her fellow spectator before he came up behind her. Asuna suddenly found another pair of hands wrapping themselves around her, taking her into a firm embrace. "Beautiful is it not?" the man whispered, putting his chin against Asuna's tenderly. Asuna reached up to return the embrace, feeling the joy flood her once more as she watched the death and destruction below her. One of her embracer's hands came up now, capturing her cheek and turning her slightly to the side. Asuna would have kissed the man, but then came to see who held her.

A pale, perfect face, with eyes deep brown, almost the colour of dried blood and hair the same hue. The man who held her was too perfect to be anything but inhuman, neither the least blemish nor imperfection marred him, no sign of him ever having lived at all. Just as how his eyes showed absolutely nothing human, only darkness and sheer, impossible evil. The exhilaration fled Asuna in-between one single pulse of her heart, the next moment replacing it with sheer, paralysing horror. The red-haired girl became scared stiff, as if she had been frozen into ice. She couldn't move at all, only stare and breathe raggedly, helplessly, the man holding her like a lover. His unrelenting grip around her turned into an equally unyielding iron manacle and the hand caressing her cheek tightened into a steel vice pinching her. She was captured, totally at his mercy, and that alone frightened her beyond anything she had ever felt before.

Thanatos reached in now, slowly kissing her on the lips. His kiss was like the wrongness of another world permeated her being. The soft, moist lips tasted as if the devil's own fruit was slipping into her mouth and crawled down into her throat, the taboo of flesh touching flesh sent a chill through her being that she couldn't tell if it arose from fear or from pleasure. The touch of his slender fingers felt like hooks pulling her into another world where only he and she existed. The very matter of what this man was made seemed to violently oppose the embrace, as if he was of another world into which she had intruded. Determined to find the answers she thought, she, despite the feeling of wrongness in her heart, opened his mouth insistently and plunged her tongue inside. Then, she understood, her clarity followed and in that moment the wrongness answered her. She had reached the end of the path, the answer, unspoken as it where, was clear. She was in the embrace of... this wasn't human, it was something... her mind couldn't decide upon it. But she at least knew a name he once went by.

"Negi?" She allowed the question to permeate the silence, "Negi... that's you, isn't it?" the silence continued, filling her at least with fear and questions and more questions she did not dare speak. One of her oldest wishes, one she had thrown away, was being given to her at last. Like karma, or whatever divine force chose the very meaning of destiny, was throwing her a bone. "Negi? It's you, isn't it? Please say something." The finger touching her lips silenced her. It ran down the side of her cheek, tracing the curve of her jaw before coming to rest at her chin where his thumb begun its journey down from her lips to meet his finger. There, those two fingers would link with her chin and pull her forwards for another kiss. She again didn't resist from this embrace, though his hands has freed her from his imprisonment her mind had replaced them as her captor.

But why? One moment she was in the caress of the ultimate evil, the next her heart had went out to him as she treated him as an old lover though she had never kissed him and if this was the man she thought he was she had never kissed him, not like this. Her tongue had never caressed his, only his lips had touched hers in that ill-fated way they had kissed. Not out of joy, hurriedly and out of sheer necessity only. It had not been a kiss out of affection, only out of duty. So why...

"What once could have been will be again." he whispered, his words running into her ears and sending electric shocks down her spine, shocks of pleasure and fear both. "Twice thwarted, yet now you've come to me."

"Come to... what do you mean?" she asked, not understanding what he meant. Thanatos smiled at him, his smile terrifying her and making the joy in her heart burst forth like a spring flood. "I don't understand."

"See below." Thanatos told her, turning her head to show the burning city below them. Asuna looked back, the joy in her heart suddenly muted somewhat, the wild glee was gone yet not the satisfaction. "Look into your own heart and see the truth. See your truest desire." he stroked his chin against hers, making her legs feel weak and a surge of fear and pleasure coruscate through her body. "I wanted you last time." he whispered to her, "I end worlds, bring oblivion to all things, and I craved you from my genesis to my conclusion." Asuna was nearly overwhelmed, almost drowned in the tidal wave this thing's attention was. She felt blinded, blind to all that wasn't him, the radiant sun and the black hole holding her.

"You came to me in the end. After these years, these long years finally you came back to me, carrying the seed in you. And not even one cultivated by me, beyond all expectations it is yours and only yours. You are utterly perfect, Asuna." he whispered, drawing out the pronunciation of her name as if it was a new-born taboo, the syllables slithered like it was a wily serpent over his sculpted, unblemished lips in a way that made her unable to comprehend her own existence, breathe, like a noose of cold piece of ice tightened around her neck, slowly trying to kill her one way or another. "You have given birth to me, my essence, and in that darkness, I live and breathe once more." Thanatos reached in now, letting his lips run down her neck, caressing it with infinite, velvety soft kisses that made the mere mortal quiver, like the ecstasy drawing kisses were made of the most potent poison that stole the control of her body. She almost lost all control over her body. The only part of her being that still could function, that could listen to any sort of command, was the arm that shot up now. While her heart with its scars of unfulfilled love and burning loss, rebelled in vain against the feelings, her entranced mind, the very part of her that was supposed to decide her actions and feelings, chose to drink of the moment by burying her hand in his hair and pushing the god closer as her back arched and her nostrils flared to breathe in his scent..

"_Beware!" _the voice screamed out, faintly enough she almost didn't hear it. She did not even care. The only sounds she wanted to hear was the uneven moans she made right now. She wanted to be lost in the alien feeling of complete submission to this endless, this being being of eternity. She wanted to be tasted like an appetizer, eaten and devoured completely like a main course. And as everything faded inside her into darkness and in that bleakness, in that abyss this god's touch stirred inside her to finish her off like a dessert, making her feel more real and complete than any earthly pleasure was able and more fulfilled than any mundane duty could.

She was slowly lowered backwards by him, the entity embracing her put her down on the floor and Asuna let herself lie down on the cloak he wore. His dark grey mantle formed from the smoke rising from the burning city below, it swirled over the edge of the battleship, forming around him and solidifying into the velvety cloth that reached in under and around Asuna, like a giant hand taking her in it. Upon the now solid smoke, the bounty of the dying city, Asuna lay with the still so alien entity above her. He stood on all fours, running one of his hands across her chin and Asuna could only lie there, feeling his hand make her blood race and her skin feel like small sparks of lightning danced across it.

"_You who are of the sun, beware!"_ the voice returned, Asuna paying some notice to it now. That voice was familiar, she knew it, yet any attempts by her to think of it, to consider it in any further detail, was stopped when Negi, Thanatos, he, it, she did not care any more, leaned in and planted another kiss on her lips, another of those kisses who defied words, not even in simple pleasure either. Asuna couldn't help but wrap her arms around him and respond, disgusted, enraptured, horrified, entranced, whatever it made her it was more real than anything else. She was like a wispy dream confronted with a flesh and blood which sheer, physical presence trumped her very existence, it was like she could be shattered by it, her body and soul taken over by this endlessly transcendent thing.

"Asuna." the being whispered once again with a voice soft like velvet, enchanting like the music of heaven and as vile as the deepest and most filthy cesspit. Asuna staring straight into his eyes, desperately so. It was as if she tried to throw herself into those eyes, lose herself in them forever. "You came to me." he said softly, his voice wrapping itself around her, caressing her. "Let us end it now." he stroked his hand across her face once again. Tenderly? That was an insufficient word but it was the only way she could describe it. The hand made its way down the side of her neck now, across her chest, down her stomach and stopping just south of it. Slowly dragging the cloth of her dress up, he reached in to kiss her one more time, Asuna's heart beating like a drum that drowned out her thoughts. "Let you and I become one." he whispered in her ears, making Asuna almost fall unconscious from the sheer power in his words. "Let me live once more."

"_Remember the warning, remember the threat!" _for the third time the voice came, frantic, desperate. Asuna's mind, wrapped in the entity's entrancing words and almost painful touch, was slow to react. However, in this maelstrom of impossible, inhuman intensity and carnality, there was one brief respite, one where something resembling one coherent, critical thought could build in her mind. She remembered, she saw. This supreme confidence, the dark delight, the inhuman grace and beauty. It was not understanding, rather remembering. She remembered Mahora, she remembered what had happened the last time his fingers had danced across her. That fear gave her power, in this one moment she found the strength to resist this overwhelming being and she did so explosively.

"No!" she screamed, desperately, frantically. Asuna rejected the infinitely superior being with all her desperate, frail, human strength. Shoving at him, she found herself having summoned her power instinctively. The force was immense and she ended up propelling him upwards, into the air. Watching the sky with wide eyes, Asuna crawled backwards, getting to her feet unsteadily as Thanatos landed effortlessly a few meters away from her. His face showed not the least anger or surprise. Only mildness, almost softness.

"Don't be afraid." he said, smiling as he reached out one hand towards her. "I will not hurt you. I swear, upon my name." The sincerity permeated the air, blazing like a giant sun of comforting truth to Asuna. She couldn't not believe him. It was pride that made her shake her head. She believed him, knew that if she submitted she'd be safe, she'd be happy, blissful in the embrace of something infinitely greater than she. She still didn't accept .

"No..." She hissed, weakly but defiantly. "I won't submit to you. Never!" Thanatos begun to approach her now, walking slowly and steadily.

"I don't want you to." he whispered gently, "I only want to give you what you want. Have you not suffered enough? Your people butchered, everyone you love dead, the man who saved you now betray you." Asuna gritted her teeth as he recounted the losses she had suffered. "Let me give you what this world took from you." Thanatos continued, "Let me give you comfort, power, safety for your people. You can have it all, I want to give you it." Asuna was already near entranced still by this magnificent being. What more, even now she still felt the hatred burning inside her, the hatred and the grief. She knew, logically, what it would mean, yet found it harder and harder to care. All that mattered to her as it was was vengeance.

"A comfort of lies, a safety of poison, a revenge of damnation." another voice said now and Asuna felt like she had been showered with cold water when the smoke came from behind her, rising up around her and forming into human shapes. The twisting, snaking smoke wasn't that, but mist. Asuna feld it as if she was frozen in ice. Not an ice of terror, but rather of pacifying, restraining and calming. Thanatos' eyes widened as Asuna found herself surrounded by a horde of misty beings. "The master of mistguard, you shall not have." mistguard's voice said.

"You have been busy, Asuna." Thanatos said mildly, smiling in dry surprise. His voice once again pronounced his name in a way that made her shiver in that way. "To think you allied with these people."

"Mistguard has remained at the feet of those who are of the sun since the first zenith." mistguard's voice said, "Thus it has been and thus it will remain. You, spawn of defilement, shall not approach her!"

"But she," Thanatos smiled, the background shifted to a beautiful haunted landscape who seemed more unreal than mundus magicus itself. Spiral towers shimmered in the sunlight and the aquaducs that now surrounded the dream was as shiny as gold and fought with the crystalline water for the title of fairest in this realm. The sky was not blue, instead, it was as white as the full moon yet the sun still shone brightly in hues of red and yellow. There was a feeling of prosperity to the land, yet there was nothing that made it feel like it was a home. All Asuna could hear was silence but Thanatos held his hand to his ear as if they were standing in a crowd of people. "But she," Thanatos repeated with a mocking smile, "She was the one who approached me." The ancient evil offered his hand out to the princess, ""Do not fear me Asuna." Thanatos said "Asuna, as I swore, as I promised, as I declare: I will not hurt you. I cannot hurt you. You," He said, pointing to his own face, then reaching out to Asuna, who flinched in disgust, "You have become like me," Thanatos whispered, "you are _my _kin now."

Asuna stood silent for a moment, conflict written on her face as blatantly as the scars left on the world in which she had fought all these years. She was as still as a statue, but that, life begun to show. Her fist was clenched and her arm shook. This shaking travelled throughout his entire body until her eyes, once as still as frozen ice, closed and her lips spread as a snarl came from her throat.. "Liar!" She snarled sharply, her once conflicted face as calm as a pond of still water. Thanatos laughed as single note of mocking laughter but Asuna was once again resolute in her beliefs. "I killed you!" Asuna shouted, "I am not like you!

"But my dear, now you are." Thanatos said in smug satisfaction, his presence beckoned her to come closer. "You have felt it, you have been it and you know unlike any mortal what it is!" started with a dramatic flair of his hand, a blaze spread across the world, incinerating the entire beautiful landscape around them. Thanatos made a gesture as if embracing the frozen flames and spun on his feet as if he was enjoying it beyond anything else "This is what is in your heart." he stated, "Hatred, hatred, anger, despair, all of these so fierce that all other concerns bow before them and whither and perish! You have in you a rage that seeks to undo the world, just like your ancestor!"

"What... what do you mean?" Asuna asked, she took a step back, frightened by the destruction wrought around them. His very presence seemed to exude evil and the fires that didn't even touch him made her sweat and her body tremble. She didn't understand him. What was he talking about? What did... what did seeing this serve his evil purposes.

"But my sweet Asuna..." Thanatos said, allowing her to realize that she was read as an open book by Thanatos. "Once upon a time, before recorded history, before any language spoken today, before all we know. There was a person, beautiful as the heavens, as sadistic and evil as I could ever be. She was born to the name of Erinya Valeni Entheofuchsia, in her life her enemies cursed her by a thousand others. But now, to your history books she is known as Thanata, the queen of darkness." Thanatos stopped and took a moment to reminiscence. He looked almost human now, something that made Asuna's stomach churn. Seeing that human expression was somehow even more vile that he was otherwise. "To some, millennia ago, she was a great being. To others, like the people of Atlantis, the great nation which had fallen to decadence, vileness and corruption, she became a scourge. You see, history remembers Atlantis as a paradise, a lost Elysium of beauty and fairness. But like any other member of humanity bestowed with power, they abused it. They dominated the world around them, making the so called "lower humans" their serfs. Your ancestor, looking up at their gilded towers like an awed child, upon their disgusting shows of avarice and rapacity, soon vowed to bring them and their gilded cages down. There, she made her plan, rising up to live and learn while the languorous Atlanteans watched the toils of their subjects. She plotted, she preyed upon the ignorant masses, and eventually, she reached beyond this world, beyond creation, beyond what is, into the abyss of all things, the endless emptiness. And when she came back, she did not come back alone. She found deep magic in that realm of non-being, the magic of the gods, the magic to make your least desire change reality. And like you," Thanatos smiled almost maniacally, "She carried nothing but hatred and rage in her. Like you, she was hollowed out by her hatred, consumed by it. She was the mother of the taint in this world, she shaped it from the true magic of creation. It has come full circle now Asuna." Thanatos reached out his hand towards her, beckoning her to come to him. "It is your destiny ,what your lineage has carried in its blood since the dawn of time. You are the destroyer, the violator, the one to undo the greatest of what civilization has wrought. Come to me Asuna, become one with me and let us wreak death upon creation, as one. Never again shall you suffer, never again shall you lose what is dear to you, never again shall you be defeated. The pain of your life shall end, as you deserve, and in its place you shall wreak it upon those who wrought it upon you."

Asuna stood still, not moving at all. She hardly even breathed., watching the ground in front of her with empty, shivering eyes. The mistguard surrounding her looked towards her, seemingly turning to her for strength. But as their master showed only paralysing indecisiveness and fright, they found themselves weakened, unable to act as well. Thanatos, meanwhile, slowly came towards her, every step like a thunderous drum. The mistguard were repelled by his very presence, being forced back as they uttered silent cries of defiance. In the end, Thanatos stood in front of Asuna, reaching up to put his hand to her soft cheek. Asuna slowly reached up, taking the hand that was held to his cheek.

"This... if this is a dream..." she whispered, "It's mine, isn't it?" She looked up at Thanatos, her eyes dull, almost unfocused.

"It is." Thanatos whispered as the raging inferno around them only seemed to grow in intensity, "Yet it needn't be but a dream."

"If it is my dream..." Asuna whispered, her lips barely moving, "Then... I control it." That was all she said before everything changed. Clenching her hand, Asuna pushed her will into it, all the will she possessed, into this. This dreamworld, this floating mix of consciousness, memories and hidden desires, was immaterial and shapeless by their very nature. Nothing is easier to shape for the trained mind than them. Asuna now created in her hand something she hadn't held for three years and had missed for every single one of the days since she had lost it. It was the proof of hers and Negi's connection, the evil-banishing sword, burst into being in her hand and with one deft twist she sent it into Thanatos chest, burying the sword through him down to the hilt, foot after foot of the heavy steel exiting from behind him. Asuna pushed, with rage and power she shoved Thanatos backwards, nailing him against the floor below them and with both hands still around the hilt, Asuna came face to face with the twisted, evil being.

"Thanks for your villain's exposition you piece of shit!" She screamed, "Who needs friends with enemies like you telling me what I'm doing wrong!" Thanatos didn't answer her, his eyes were wide in shock and his hands clenching the sword as well, desperately trying to pull it out. "So my ancestor was evil? So fucking what? She's called the queen of light in my history! She created Vespertatia and gave millions of people a home! You seriously think I'm gonna buy into your moronic idea that because life hurts I should let the world burn? Die! Go back to the pit you crawled out of and let Negi rest in piece you little shit!" Thanatos' eyes refocused now, as black liquid came running from his mouth, he looked straight at Asuna, smiling insanely. Despite the sword in his gut, the sword anathema to him, the artefact designed to send him back where he belonged, all he showed was glee.

"You win this time my dear Asuna!" he pushed forth, cackling laughter following his words. "But it is not over, it is never over." he hissed, "I am there every time anger seeps into your soul, every time you hate and every time you rage! You will never be rid of me, I am your birthright!"

"Fuck, that, shit!" Asuna screamed into Thanatos face and with that, the dream came apart around her. The hellish landscape burned up in an instant and then, just for a moment, there was nothing. Soon Asuna fell from her invisible platform, falling through the void only to wake up in her bed, sweating, shivering and ice cold. A wave of nausea showered over her and she threw herself out of bed, only barely managing to reach the toilet before she threw up. Trembling and moaning, she loudly emptied her stomach into the bowl, unable to hold down any of it as her stomach couldn't stop churning. It wasn't long before the door opened behind her. Out of worry for the princess, a servant came into the room. Asuna, still dry heaving, stopped him with frantic sweep of her arm.

"No!" she pushed forth, "I... Fate, get Fate here now!" her mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts and fears but there was still something in there she knew, that blazed in her. Asuna remained by the toilet bowl, creating a pitiable figure, a sweating, shivering young woman with wet hair and dishevelled clothes who leaned forwards and made slow, retching noises. Fate wasn't slow to arrive, getting there within less than a minute. The white-haired construct knelt by his master's side. Asuna looking weakly at him.

"Release Ricardo." She gasped, still weak and shivering, her voice was low, unsteady and cracked. "Work... work out some peace deal. We won't attack Mega, fuck, tell them we'll strike at the nationalists if we can. Just... we have to stop it, if we don't... do it now!" she ended it with a scream. Fate was on his feet instantly.

"Understood." he said, leaving the room instantly. Behind, he left the princess of Vespertatia, the lover of Negi Springfield, the victim of Malfeas, the bane of Thanatos. He left her sobbing and shivering, broken by terror, shock and fear.

Thus, the Enslaver war came to an end. The ice cold construct of her highness Asuna retrieved the senator from the cell in which he had been thrown, skilfully twisting the truth about the whole incident in favour of his mistress. Senator Ricardo was told it had been to show the brutal and dehumanizing treatment they had suffered and was asked whether he still believed in those pretty words he spouted. Ricardo had answered yes without a nanosecond's hesitation. For his straightforward answer, the man was allowed to return him along with all the prisoners of war and all the equipment captured from Megalomesembria.

In Vespertatia, tempers ran high after the princess' deal with what many amongst the resistance considered "the" evil. Allied mercenaries and slavers raged over the perceived broken promise concerning the upcoming attack on Megalomesembria's capitol, the more hate-filled amongst the soldiers vehemently questioned their leader's sense in letting such a perfect opportunity for revenge pass by, some amongst the bergafolk were furious over what they could only see as dishonour. The princess silenced them all. Be it through the cunning diplomacy of her lieutenants, heavy-handed authority waving or pleas to their better sides, most soon accepted the truth of the matter. After thirteen years the war was over. It didn't matter how: they were now free to rebuild their devastated nation.

Back in Ricardo's homeland, support for the progressives withered swiftly when Ricardo, beat up and bruised, came back from Vespertatia at the head of all those presumed lost to the "terrorists". Through the national media Ricardo passionately spoke of the valour, the dignity and the bravery of the freedom fighters he had met, knowing well that the less pretty parts of what just had transpired would serve only to worsen the situations. He therefore lied about it, doing so for the sake of a peace everyone sensible knew was long overdue. Seven months after Ricardo's flight from the capitol, the progressives' government fell as the watch, the army, even the senatorial guard abandoned them. The civil war ended before it could truly begin, hundreds dying in the conflict that could have cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

The Crimson Wing came to break up once more. Their explosive reappearance in the skies above Othila went down once more in the annals of history, one last glorious victory for this band of heroes after which they once again broke up, this time for good. Eishun went back to Kyoto, becoming a recluse from whom the title of leader soon passed onto other, unbroken, men. Albiero seemingly vanished, going back into hiding and whatever arcane arts occupied his time. Rakan returned back to Granicus and the life of drink, food, fights and women he had lived these years, many however would remark upon the dissatisfied look on the titan's face after his return. And Nagi went back to the wanderer's life. Coming to travel the world as he had done in his youth. This time alone, bar the gynoid that never left his side and also, according to rumours, the periodic visits to the capitol of Ostia, visits he always made in secret.

The black fleet headed back whence they had come, disappearing across the Pyriths and back into the heartlands of Hellas. The empire's gamble had paid off, the swift, bloody campaign had rendered their greatest enemy severely weakened and once again the empire of Hellas emerged as one of the leading powers of the world. Princess Theodora, humbled by the ferocity and the devotion of her Vespertatian counterpart, came to be an outspoken proponent of closer contacts with Vespertatia, an once enemy of the empire. In time, Hellas became Vespertatia's foremost trading partner, both nations prospering from the deal.

The bergafolk effectively ceased to exist as a separate people when the war ended. Entire tribes had been wiped out and the ones that remained were severely weakened. In time, they came to be absorbed into the Vespertatian society, the transition being rocky to say the least. The honour culture of the tribals meshed poorly with the modern society of the Vespertatians, even after the many years they had lived side by side in the mountains. Soon, the two peoples segregated and the bergafolk came to drift towards the fringes of society, to the ghettos and slums, a trend that the state of Vespertatia fought fiercely and with mixed success.

Megalomesembria never recovered after the war. The Tantalus separatists claims on their province's independence was preposterous to the progressives, however to Ricardo and the reformists, it was unavoidable. With the independence of Tantalus, other provinces came to make the claim, resulting in a storm of political activism and partisan activity only further ravaging the already tormented nation. For the next five years, Megalomesembria was paralysed as the new reformist government struggled desperately to deal with the tidal wave of incidents and demands coming from a population utterly fed up with the authoritarian regime their political opponents had wrought. After these years, Megalomesembria's star had fallen and it would not rise to its former heights again. To Senator Ricardo however, it was as it should be. At least now, the nation no longer fed upon its people and instead had once again came to exist for their sake.

And in Ostia, on the day of the summer solstice, princess Asuna was crowned queen of Vespertatia. In a devastated royal palace which had been in a state of disrepair ever since the cataclysmic fall of her home city, she now accepted the crown of Vespertatia's monarch, finishing the fight and claiming her people's independence and freedom. She accepted it with a smile, with pride and conviction. Yet inside, she could only despair. The war reparations from Megalomesembria went far, Ricardo scraped the bottom of the barrel for Vespertatia's sake, but rebuilding her broken nation was a project that would take decades, the scars of her people would take even longer to heal.

And above all else, the words of Thanatos tore at her soul. She had defied him, yet the slow, pounding fear that came to her every night, during every moment of stillness, was harder to defy. It remained a constant terror of hers. She became in the following years known as a serene, angelic ruler who never was riled. It was not peace that gave her these traits however, it was horror that she, if she allowed herself to anger, would let loose Thanatos upon the world.

* * *

A/N: JESUS CHRIST this has been a long journey. FINALLY this entire arc is done and we're one step closer to the end. We've got only 3 chapters left now before the end of this story. And to all those who have followed me this far; Thank you for your continued support and I hope this arc's ending satisfiy you .


	25. Mocking Echoes

Chapter 14: Mocking Echoes

* * *

The once glorious city of Ostia had during the schismatic war been devastated. Situated upon several large flying islands, the city had seen several of those islands fall into the sea of mist below during that war. The attacking Megalomesembrian armada had attempted to counter the awesome magical powers of the royal family using wild magic. It had ended poorly. The very magic holding the islands up in the air had been torn to shreds and in a storm of explosions, fire, thunder and chaos the city had fallen apart, large parts of it vanishing into the sea of mists below. Only some of the islands had remained afloat, large parts of the city that nevertheless was savaged and ruined. Rebuilding had a painful and drawn out process, not the least due to the war that broke out not soon after Ostia's fall.

Yet thirty years after the city's fall, things were looking up for the city of light. Reconstruction had started already during the Megalomesembric occupation and for all their other faults, the Megalomesembrians had done a fine job. Most of the city had been rebuilt already before the occupation forces had surrendered to Vespertatia's royal army. Said surrender had spared the city further damage and now, seventeen years after the war ended, something unprecedented was going on.

Thousands upon thousands stood along the edges of the main island, watching out across the mists to the south the sun shone brilliantly over the city, Sol itself watching what was happening now. Several kilometres from the platform an entire armada of ships were slowly rising from the mists below, hovering in a ring around one of the fallen islands. Their hulls and the magical projectors mounted at the tips of the ships both gleamed in the sunlight like a band of burning pearls around the large, grey rock that slowly rose out of the sea misty seas below. It created a halo of lights keeping the fallen island afloat and from the other islands people watched with amazement, eager anticipation and excitement.

Slowly, slowly, the island rose up into the sky, dragged skywards by the dozens of ships around it and the blazing ring of magic energy they wove around the fallen island. Eventually they reached the apex of their ascent into the sky, the island coming to hover at the same height as the others. The ring of burning discs around it now flared. The light turned into a blindingly bright halo as the ships' magic generators blazed, making most of the people standing by the platform look away. A deep, humming sound accompanied the light, resounding through the people watching from the other islands. For several minutes the magic blazed, filling the world with lights and sound, it was immense in both aspects, none being able to look at it.

Then, it all came to a halt. The magic stopped blazing, vanishing as the light and sound instantly stopped to be. In the wake was left merely a void of silence and natural light, one that to the onlookers seemed so insufficient for a while. The world was sunken into a twilight landscape due to their eyes having struggled to adapt to the blazing light. Therefore, it took them a while to see clearly the isle that the ships had lifted into the air. The shining band of discs around it was gone and though the ships still hovered around it, the isle stayed afloat of its own power, having been reintegrated into the streams of magic running through the world here. Amazingly enough, the fallen isle was back where it belonged, high in the air above the sea of mists. The onlooking crowds exploded into wild cheers now, an overjoyed roar ascended towards the skies. All of Ostia cheered, hundreds and thousands of people filling the air with the sounds of happiness at the sight. And also, high above the islands, floating high above the imperial palace the mothership Takahata Takamichi gently hovered, a woman smiling at the sight from her position at the front of the bridge.

Her majesty Asuna looked at the sight, smiling as her hands covered her mouth. She hardly dared believe what she saw. The once torn-down island was now floating in the air again, that which so many had thought impossible had just happened! Her eyes misted up now, the storm of emotions being almost overwhelming. The people around her were working at glowing, ethereal control panels and holographic screens but not one of them had their full attention towards their job, instead they were as overjoyed as their queen. In the entire arch-shaped bridge over a hundred people worked, nearly all of them overjoyed bar one exception.

"Fate..." she begun, her voice breaking. A young boy standing close to her, seemingly only around fifteen but in truth much older, looked at her from his position diagonally behind her. Unlike the queen, who stood clothed in vibrant reds, oranges and purples, he wore only a plain white robe.

"Yes your majesty?" he asked, his voice steady and not betraying even one iota of emotion.

"Ask for anything right now, anything I can give you, and I will." the queen said with her voice quivering.

"I require nothing, your majesty." Fate said, bowing towards his mistress, "You know this well."

"What do you want then?" Asuna asked, looking back at him, stressing the word "want". "Please Fate, let me repay you somehow." she walked up to him, taking his hands in hers. "Thank you..." she said now, even closer to tears now. "I don't know how... thank you." she now broke all kinds of royal etiquette and embraced him. "Thank you." she whispered once again, her voice having broken as the tears ran down her face. Fate returned the embrace stiffly, these many years of serving the queen had only partially alleviated his coldness but his mistress did not mind.

This man – for she refused to see him as anything else – had found a way to restore the floating isles of her beloved city, she held him too dear to ever think anything bad of him for his cold demeanour. Letting go of him, she walked over to the window once again to look down at the floating island, the joy making her almost bounce as she moved. Seeing the isle and how the ships around it had started to break formation around it, moving away from it to let it float on its own, she gave up a small laugh of pure joy once more. Several of the crew members were busy watching the isle, sneaking in glances constantly towards their queen and the joy she showed. To all of them the sight of their queen's utter bliss of happiness was more precious than diamonds.

It was then that Asuna froze.

For one instant, everything turned dark, twisted, malevolent and just plain wrong. It came out of nowhere, like a tidal wave it washed over her, annihilating every last bit of happiness and only leaving pure horror and nausea in its wake. The isle below her shook, for one second it seemed as though it would fall and the ships that had been leaving it instantly acted and begun to turn towards it again to support it. The isle remained upright however, the queen didn't. Up in the ship, Asuna had sunken down to her knees. Her hands clutched at the railing as her body slumped forwards, her face staring at the floor, her eyes wide and face pale. She begun to sweat and her breathing became ragged, desperate.

"Your majesty!" Fate was at her side in an instant, kneeling by her side and coming up to look at her face. "what happened?" he asked, Asuna not answering.

"No..." she whispered hoarsely, "No...no...no, no, nonononono." she kept going, over and over again, faster and faster until she was hoarse.

"Your majesty!" Fate said again, more frantically, but his mistress did not answer. Fate didn't manage to reach her, she was lost to the world around her, the horror having torn her into its grip and devoured her whole. In the end, her hands had to be pried off the railing when healers arrived and took her off the ship. The crewmen were harshly ordered to silence by Fate, the man's face still unemotional but his eyes blazing with fury.

* * *

Inside the large military control room of the Vespertatian royal guard frantic work could be seen everywhere. The soldiers, chosen from the finest of the Vespertatian armed forces, ran back and forth as they worked to understand the strange phenomenon which for just a split-second had flared across all screens. In the orange and green lights from the holographic panels and screens they all struggled to understand and moreso track the source of the strange burst of magic which had suddenly blazed across the screens. It was to this sight that Fate Averruncus entered the room, looking around with his eyes blazing. The sight of their intense work did not soothe him, that was the wrong word to use right now. Yet, it still made his rage swell no more than it already had. The same was as true for the officer that instantly came up to him. Still, Fate was furious.

"Thirty-five minutes and forty-seven seconds ago an emission took place." Fate said, his voice cold as ice and as intense as a blazing wildfire. "I want to know its source and type, now." The officer nodded and motioned for Fate to come over towards one of the screens. By it, the man showed a large 3-D map of the world around them.

"We tracked the source of the emission down to the fallen isles." the man told Fate, showing him on the screen where he meant. A spot down amongst the fallen isles were blazing a bright red. "It is of a kind we've never seen before, blazed with an overwhelming power for a split-second, then it vanished."

"Send down teams to secure and seal off the area." Fate ordered.

"Already on it sir," the officer said, "A strike team is heading down towards it as we speak." He indicated a tiny white dot that was rapidly descending towards the area.

Meanwhile, down inside the large shuttle that was heading down into the mists below the city of Ostia the twenty heavily armed soldiers chosen to go down were grimly reading their weapons. These men were a far cry from the sometimes ramshackle soldiers of the resistance, they were the new model soldiers of the Vespertatian army, with firepower to equal and even surpass any other soldier in this world and the training and skill to bring it to bear with perfect accuracy. They were putting fully charged magazines into their guns, strapping their combat knives onto their left legs and pulling down their glowing goggles over their eyes. The first battle of these half-breed soldiers, one part magical and one part mundane, had earned them the name "shadow reapers" as they wiped out an entire pirate fleet in one bloody night through stealth, surprise and taking out one part of the fleet after another. The magical world would sooner or later comprehend them and compensate, yet as it was, they had no peer in this world amongst all the armies that existed. They were too alien, too powerful, and right now they were thirsty for the blood of whatever had caused the emission that sent their queen into an anxiety attack powerful enough to render her catatonic.

The large shuttle reached the ground soundlessly and in the instant the hatch opened the men were out of it, brandishing their guns and spreading out. With gritted teeth they advanced towards the position of the emission. The old maps of the city told them that right ahead the old library would lie, an ominous position for a strange emission to happen at. They didn't care, whoever had caused their queen, their great saviour, the messiah of the Vespertatian people, to suffer this attack of panic and sheer fear would bleed.

Yet, as they approached a massive figure became visible in the gloom that their goggles could only partially help clarify the identity of. It was huge, towering above them and the silhouette did not tell them much. When they approached and found out what it was their hearts froze at the sight. The men for a short while remained standing still, staring up at the incredible sight in front of them. Their communications crackled now, radio contact having pierced the thick fog around them and reached the unit.

"Strike team, report in." the command was succinct and snapped the commander of the team back to reality, however barely. The commander slowly reached up, his fingers touching the comm equipment to open the channel.

"This is strike team." he said absently. "We've found traces of the emission." it might have been the correct thing to say, but to call what he was seeing right now "traces" felt more than absurd, it was outright preposterous.

"Specify." the man on the other end said and the commander looked at what they had found for a while, trying to find the words. "Strike team, please respond!" the man on the other end said after a while. There was something frantic to his voice.

"You won't believe me..." the man said, looking up at what they had found. A dragon, an ancient such by any standards. It was huge, with teeth as long as their arms and with a wingspan like a cruiser. Also, it was stone-cold dead, pierced in dozens of places by what could only be described as a swarm of giant black spikes that had shot out of the ground in front of it. Blood streamed down the spikes still, covering the ground around it.

"Transmit an image." the commander heard mission command say and wordlessly obeyed, his goggles relaying the image of the killed beast up to the large room.

Up in the room, Fate took one look at the image before his construct heart froze. The man blinked, his face betraying his shock as the mouth fell open. This person, known to all of the soldiers around him as unflappable, ice cold and ever focused became dumbstruck and horrified. He stared at the screen, deaf to the officer's questions of what was wrong. After nearly ten seconds, one word came across his lips, inadvertently.

"Impossible..." he whispered, feeling for the first time in twenty years pure, unadulterated fear.

* * *

Fate watched the small piece of blood steel with a grim look on his face. Seated by his work desk in his private chamber, the servant of queen Asuna sat with hands clasped in front of his face as he stared down on the roughly one foot long piece that had been extracted from the spikes below. The area was sealed off and heavily guarded by forces fanatically loyal. They wouldn't speak of it, that wasn't the issue. The issue was what he saw in front of himself right now.

Touching the piece, he watched the light from the many sources around it bounce off it, clearly showing its matte surface and the dark, almost black, reddish-brown colour. It was blood steel, no doubt about it. In the wake of the battle of Mahora Megalomesembria, funders of the academy as they were, had gotten their hands on the blood steel left after Thanatos, eagerly hoarding the new and mysterious material. The financial crisis that came after they lost the enslaver war had forced them to scare up more money wherever they could find it. Selling the blood steel had been one of the ways they had tried to fill the gaping hole in their treasuries. And the world had rejoiced, running his fingers over it, he thought of how everyone from Ariadne to the Transcendent Guild had thrown themselves at the opportunity.

The material was a dream come true, powerful, strong and could be shaped reasonably easily. There had been an explosion of new, powerful technologies and artefacts based on this vile creation, the solidified blood of the fallen son of the thousand master. Yet, there was a set amount of it and the world had eaten through the amount that existed in a few years, much to Asuna's relief. She couldn't deal with the idea of using the remains of her dead... whatever he had been to her, like that. When it was used up she had hoped to never see it again.

Yet now, Asuna was still in the throes of the panic attack and even though she had mostly calmed down, she was nevertheless desperate for him to figure out what was going on. The reason? An emission of magical energies accompanied by the slaying of an elder dragon. And what had been left in its wake? Blood steel, tonnes of it.

It was impossible, nobody could created this. The entire magical world had tried to recreate it, nobody had succeeded, not even the utterly amoral Transcendent Guild who shied no means to advance their skill. Once again touching it, he channelled some power through it and felt it flare up. It terrified him, knowing well how powerful this material was and the skill of the fallen Negi, Thanatos. It was a lethal combination, a dark reaper walking this world. Many would have sought alternatives, hoping for other explanations, Fate didn't. Thanatos was back. The monster who, along with his master Malfeas, nearly had ended the world, was back. This appearance was a provocation, a spitwad to the face to make Asuna come after him. Thanatos was trying to lure the queen to track him down in a fit of fear and anger. The thought made him grit his teeth in anger, the twisted games of that fiend made him want to throw up with equal parts nausea and bile.

"No..." he whispered, taking the piece of blood steel in his hand and raising it. "You are not the piper this time Thanatos." Fate had already formulated a plan and fortunately, all the pieces were available for it to work, especially that one woman. Ironically a childhood friend of Negi Springfield, that woman was the foremost scryer in the world. If she found Thanatos' position, they could and would cut the head of that snake. Fate looked out through the window, narrowing his eyes as he looked towards the moon. In the light he could almost see the ministra he lost many years ago, both to his own mistake and the scars left in her soul by Thanatos. He never would have thought of it like that, but the chance at killing her tormentor made him happy.

Fortune favoured the bold. It was time to show boldness again.

* * *

Asuna sat in the large comfortable armchair, clothed in only a soft, warm bathrobe as she looked out of the giant window. The day outside was brilliant, the sun shining warmly and a gentle wind playing with the leaves of the trees. Birds flew through the air, chasing each other in seemingly wild games. Unlike them however, Asuna sat silently, sitting in the darkness of her room which only the light from outside illuminated, a light that was all too faint since the sun shone on the other end of the palace, leaving the entire side at which her window sat in the shade. It suited Asuna, she felt safer here where it felt like she couldn't be seen.

Having mostly recovered from the attack of sheer horror, the queen of Vespertatia never the less couldn't forget or ignore what had happened three days ago. Her people had been told it was just exhaustion that had struck, an explanation that many had swallowed as they knew how hard Asuna worked. But Asuna knew the truth... It one, painful and horrible second certainty had struck her, a strange feeling of knowing, without any doubt, that something very terrible had happened. She didn't know what it had been, but she knew it was true.

Somehow, in defiance of all common sense, Thanatos was back. The certainty had echoed through her entire body and she had been unable to doubt it even one iota. That possibility which had terrified her all these years had come true and Asuna didn't know what to do. She had struggled, all these years, with keeping her emotions under control. After the pitch-black hatred which had consumed her during the last parts of the enslaver war almost had led to the resurrection of Thanatos she had refused to let any anger, any fear or despair find a home in her. She had forced herself to remain serene and calm no matter what, hoping desperately that she could seal him away that way. With all that having fallen apart however, she was left shivering with fear and despair.

There was so much she didn't comprehend here, how could it even have happened? What was Thanatos, to come back from death over and over like this? What did he want now? And most of all, why did this wraith of the past have to come back once more? Asuna buried her face in her shaking hands, silently praying to sol that it would all be an evil dream. She didn't want to believe it, wanted it to be a misinterpretation of something else. But she couldn't believe that, not with the vile blood steel Thanatos had used suddenly present in such amounts. In the near two decades that had passed since her flight from Mahora and the terrible war that had followed she had managed to find some modicum of peace. While bereft of almost everyone she loved, with her people and nation devastated and struggling with her own darkness, she still could find some kind of serenity, at least some times. Slowly rebuilding her nation, Asuna had managed to find ways to smile again, genuinely, at every rebuilt town, every new born and free child and every success of her rebuilding nation. Vespertatia was battered, but not beaten, and every day had seemed to carry new possibilities. Until now...

Asuna was afraid, she was so afraid she didn't know what to do. Fate had left yesterday, saying he had a possible lead to check up on. Asuna wanted to trust him, she hadn't had any reason not to all these years, but some voice in the back of her head told her that Fate, for all his powers, had been enslaved by Thanatos many years ago and could just as well be that again. She refused to listen to that voice. If she didn't have Fate with her now, who did she have? Nagi? He was impossible to reach and only popped in occasionally, mostly being in some or other strange place nobody had ever heard of. Kurt? He had suffered a series of severe bouts of disease and nowadays was almost infirm physically. Ormgeirr? He and nearly two hundred of the bergafolk had renounced her and formed a terrorist group currently carrying on the "war" against Megalomesembria, in truth however they were simple fanatics and murderers, denounced by both her and the bergafolk council, the closest thing to a political entity the bergafolk had these days.

Yes... if Fate couldn't come up with something, nobody could.

"Your majesty..." a voice said behind her and Yuuto came up beside her. Her first servant and current majordomo of the royal palace had aged with little grace, he was nowadays a hunched-over, wrinkled figure who, when glanced from the side, seemed more like a pale, gnarled root than a person. Yet he still moved with speed and certainty and was just as sharp as always. She was grateful for him.

"Yuuto..." She begun. "Who am I?"

"You are my queen." he answered, the minute, almost imperceptible delay before he did so showing how surprised he was. "the saviour and messiah of Vespertatia."

"I fear..." she begun, silently having heard his words. "That what comes now might be the end of everything..."

"If it does, the people of Vespertatia will gladly march with you into oblivion." the servant said. "I do not exaggerate, you have earned their uttermost loyalty, few in this nation wouldn't sacrifice everything for you."

"But I don't want them to..." Asuna said, her voice cracking. Once again this damned loyalty. She knew she had it, and she hated it. She didn't want anyone else dying for her. Too many had died already and every death only made it hurt even more."

"Yet they do your majesty." the servant told her. "Because they know you will take good care of that trust."

"I will?" Asuna almost snorted. She couldn't believe that they thought that. What had she accomplished that hadn't been either directed, suggested or indeed achieved by the people around her? She was a figurehead, a well-meaning but clumsy and incompetent figure who kept a smiling facade and sucked up the glory belonging to better men.

"Yes." Yuuto said. "and if I may be so audacious, they will expect you to as well." Asuna sighed, burying her face once again in her hands. Expectations... demands? No, duty. Duty to those who had invested this trust in her. Asuna realized that it was business as usual. She was the leader, a decision had come to make and she had to make it. It was what she did, for the safety and prosperity of her people.

"Send a message to supreme commander Takeda." Asuna said after a short while. "tell him to start assembling a task force of our absolute best soldiers. Top secret. It's got to be mobile, stealthy and able to take out anything, with emphasis on anything." Asuna clasped her hands to make them stop shaking. She wasn't just Asuna anymore. She was queen Asuna. If Thanatos thought she'd be as easy as at Mahora to defeat he'd get the surprise of his life.

"As you command, your highness." Yuuto bowed to her and the gnarled man left quickly. Asuna looked out through the window. Beginning to summon up the old mental strength she had been forced to build up during the enslaver war, the queen of Vespertatia prepared herself once again for battle.

* * *

The two hundred men stood lined up in ten rows of twenty men each inside the large hangar of the royal palace The sight of them to many in the magical world would have been terrifying. Only twohundred men, but they were armed to the teeth in the very latest of the Vespertatian Royal Armouries' weapons systems and armours. Metal covered most of their bodies, not huge and bulky designs like the Megalomesembrian or Hellassi forces, but rather relatively sleek designs coloured a matted black with goggled helmets and built in backpack generators. Their assault rifles were short, stubby and had magazines heavy enough to belong on a machine gun. Grenades and swords were hanging from their belts and not one of them moved a single muscle. While this happened a grey-haired, one-eyed man was currently hobbling back and forth in front of the assembled soldiers. He wore a long black coat and the missing eye was covered by a black patch. They were the only people present, the hangar was empty other than that.

"You have all been selected because you are the best of the best." supreme commander Takeda said as he watched the assembled soldiers. "Amongst the thousands of soldiers in this nation, you're the toughest, the meanest and the most loyal. That's why you have been selected to carry out this mission, a secret mission on orders from her majesty herself! Her majesty will now give you the details personally." he finished, standing to the side as a red-haired woman in her thirties came up to the group, wearing a heavy armour, much like theirs but even more intricate and well made, a one-billion drachma system specifically tailored for her needs. The queen of Vespertatia stood proud and strong in front of them, a massive sword resting on her back. The soldiers snapped to attention at once, saluting the queen with sharp movements, a gesture the queen returned.

"Twenty years ago the world almost ended." queen Asuna said. "under the great academy of Mahora in the old world a monster which once had been Negi Springfield tried to give the demon god Malfeas a way into this world. It called itself Thanatos, heir to Thanata, and it was only barely that he was stopped that time. I thought I had killed him, but he's back now." Asuna said with a grim voice. None of the gathered soldiers said anything. "Before it's revealed to the rest of the world and causes a massive panic, we'll have to stop him once more." Asuna continued, "I won't lie to you men, I haven't picked you because you'll crush him easily, but because you're the only ones that can even threaten him, however little. Banishing him will be my job, he's a creature of magic and if I can get close to him, I can annihilate him." Asuna didn't tell them the truth, that she only thought she might be able to do so. In these twenty years she had become a very powerful fighter, Kurt had personally trained her in every aspect of his fencing style and it had been years since he had defeated her even once, even before his disease. It was all they could do. If only they could have reached Nagi... "Questions?" she asked now.

"Where is the target located?" one of the soldiers asked, Asuna nodding to herself.

"We don't know yet." she said, "Right now however, Fate Averruncus is on his way here with that information. He has visited one of the best scryers in the world to get said information. When we find out his current location we track him down and hit him with all we've got. Killing him is all that matters. If he survives, we are looking at a worst case scenario worthy of nightmares. Any other questions?" she continued, the men being silent now. Slowly nodding to herself, Asuna heard the sound of a small shuttle rapidly approaching the hangar. Looking out of it, she saw how the small vessel Fate used was drawing near. Right on time as always... Asuna loved that you could pretty much set the clock after Fate. The seemingly fifteen-year old boy that landed in front of the assembled group with practiced ease had once been an enemy, now he was her closest confidante.

Stepping out of the vehicle, Fate came up to her with his hood upturned and his sleeved tucked into each other to render him almost featureless. When he came up to her he leaned in to whisper in her ears the information he had managed to find, his voice soft. Asuna blinked when she heard his words, not having expected what he told her. A cold feeling settled in her guts but she gritted her teeth and took a deep breath. It was fitting in a way, no matter how much she felt sick at the thought.

"We head for Mahora." Asuna told Takeda, who nodded. Fate nodded and fell in beside Asuna as they saddled up, heading into the transport ships as the assembled soldiers did so as well. The small squadron of black dropships lifted off the ground, soundlessly, and shot out of the hangar at top speed. Already when they passed the edge of the hangar they vanished, activating their powerful cloaking fields. None would know about their departure, as decreed by her majesty, except for the small, inevitable, amount of personnel sworn to silence about the whole affair. Her majesty did not want the rest of the world to know about the horror that was lurking on the horizon, and Sol willing, they would be able to stop it before the world suffered.

* * *

It was telling of the capabilities of Vespertatia's dropships that even through they largely went through Vespertatia's own channels and could slip past the surveillance systems still were not discovered even once. A quick trek to the Vespertatian world gate, followed by the transport to the old world, went past with not one single suspicion. Well in the old world the dropships shot across the skies at immense speeds, nearly breaking the sound barrier and despite flying through British, French, German and even Russian territory none of these great powers could even notice a single hint of their passage through their respective air space. Not twenty four hours had passed when the ships shot across the Japanese lands having arrived from the north and now heading south towards the vicinity of Tokyo and the university city of Mahora. Like shadows they had passed through half the old world and now they closed in through the night like the reaper.

As they crossed over the Mahora lake the soldiers on the ships begun to get ready. They readied their magazines, filling them with special cartridges designed to annihilate magic of all kinds. Their goggles were fired up and stiffness worked out of their bodies. Asuna was sharpening her sword one last time. It wasn't her pactio artifact, but it was a good second place, an ancient and powerful blade of supposedly Atlantean origins, presented to her by the treasure hunters' guild ten years ago. She had considered it a grandiose gift only and had never expected to use it. It fit however, the blade seemed almost like it was made for her. What more, it was made to kill that which supposedly was unkillable. The Atlantean magic in it was strange, only partially understood, but it would suffice here.

"We're crossing in over the lake soon." the pilot said over the PA system. "Scans are picking up a powerful energy field over the academy. We won't get in undetected."

"Touch down at Library Island." Asuna said, "We'll get down into the catacombs from there We pass through without being noticed. I don't trust the academy to not have been infiltrated."

"Roger that your majesty." the pilot said as he led the squadron towards the small island that sat in the lake right outside the rest of the campus. A solitary pier going out from the isle became their landing spot. The five ships formed a ladder formation, letting the troops of the ships higher up use the ones below as a staircase to get down. In the night the pier was mostly empty, however there still were a few people on it. Two people more precisely, a pair of high school students currently occupied with making out. Said two lovebirds became unaware of how an entire company of elite soldiers dismounted only a few dozen meters from them, both the ships and the soldiers cloaked and moving soundlessly. The Vespertatians spread out, watching for any signs of activity. To each other they were fully visible, a quirk in the stealth system to not make them careless, and it meant that they had their guns raised and kept low profiles. Telepathy could be intercepted, which meant they used hand signals instead.

"_Two people, forward, take down, silent, non-lethal." _the captain of the company told his men with quiet signals, indicating the two high-schoolers and two of his men fell out from the main group, dashing towards the kids and the two lovers found themselves sent into a harmless but deep sleep within a second. The soldiers used their "sleepers", hand-held stun-guns meant for precisely these things, taking out people without violence, noise, light and, most importantly, without any deaths. They'd wake up in an hour, thinking they had fallen asleep. One of the soldiers took the time to arrange their bodies so the high-schoolers were in each others' arms, just to be sure. The rest of the company moved ahead, reaching the end of the pier where also the barrier began. Normally anything moving through here would be discovered. It was a powerful barrier, of Megalomesembric design. Few could ask for anything more than this barrier, but it did not stop the shadow reapers.

They deployed a series of instruments, small but potent, and soon they had put up a softly glowing gateway in front of the barrier. The soldiers rushed in through the gateway, another appearing only a few feet in front of them through which they exited, now on the other side of the barrier. Asuna led the group, remembering twenty years ago, the stupid response of her and the baka rangers to the threat of their current sense, Negi, having to leave the academy if they came last in the upcoming exams. Back then they had gone down into the catacombs looking for a book. This time they were looking for evil incarnate. The locked doors to the library was easily picked open and the troops could move into the library building.

Asuna didn't know what would happen but she knew it'd end here, one way or another. This small force wasn't all she had sent out. It was a lot, but she had one last ace up her sleeve. She'd rather die than let Thanatos return in force. She'd rather annihilate Mahora than let Thanatos come back. The Takahata Takamichi and half her fleet would be here within twenty four hours as well, carrying with itself enough doomsday weapons to render half of Japan a smouldering wasteland. If Thanatos was here, if Asuna fell against him, then within two days there would be nothing left of Mahora or the catacombs below it. A light and thunder show hopefully would scare away most of the people here, but if they stayed, they'd die along with Thanatos.

Asuna refused to take the chance. Gritting her teeth as she and the troopers moved through the library and towards the basement, she reiterated the truth to herself. Mahora was a regrettable, but acceptable sacrifice to stop Thanatos. Her life was the same as was all of Vespertatia, who most probably would fall apart if she vanished. Nothing, absolutely nothing, mattered more than to stop that monster. Mankind could be knocked back to the stone age, all but a few thousands of all living humans could die, it was still better than Thanatos winning. Asuna had seen what awaited the world under Thanatos' master Malfeas and Thanatos was as vile as his master. It would not come to pass, no matter the cost.

The path was clear in her mind, she had spent the entire journey with Fate helping her take those old, faint memories and sharpen them. They didn't retrace her steps however, Fate had managed to map out the route they had once used, she and her fellow students. That path did take them down into the library's deepest parts but it was the most roundabout path Fate had ever seen. Asuna wondered just how well the library club had mapped out the tunnels, from the looks of it it had been a patchwork at best.

Whatever, didn't matter, meant they could get to Thanatos quicker.

After only ten minutes they got out into the large chamber, perhaps fifty meters wide, that Asuna remembered as the place where they had met that strange shadow figure. It still looked the same, with the raised platform at one end of the room and the giant statues around it. Decades ago, that shadow figure had stood between the baka rangers and their prize and Asuna found herself wondering who that had been. There was a lot of strange things here... but who knew, as far as she knew it could have been anything, anyone. It could even have been Negi. The captain came up to her, a handheld instrument in his hand.

"There's nothing here." he said hoarsely, his voice had become a hoarse hiss at fourteen years of age when he nearly had the throat torn out by a Stenata, a pyrith rock hound. Despite that he had kept fighting, coming to serve under Ormgeirr as one of his chosen warriors and now in the Vespertatian shadow reapers. Captain Kaun was perhaps the single best soldier in her army and if he said there was nothing here, Asuna could take his word for it. "Below there's something big." he continued however, "It is off the scales and very malicious so it should be it."

"Good." Asuna said, feeling her guts turn in anticipation. "There's a trapdoor somewhere here. Find it, we'll descend through it." The captain saluted and motioned for his men to start looking. Asuna meanwhile, noticed Fate. His eyes were narrowed and his hands were clasped, almost in a praying motion. "Are you okay?" she came to ask him, worried by his behaviour. Fate usually didn't show emotions at all.

"I... am." he said eventually. His voice was thoughtful, but strained. "I will regain my focus your majesty, I merely feel... happy."

"Happy?" Asuna asked carefully, surprised by his reaction.

"Today is seventeen years, three months, two weeks and one day since Tsukuyomi died." Fate said. "I never thought the one responsible would come back, that I would be given a chance to kill him for what he did." Asuna looked at Fate, it was almost like a slap to the face, seeing that Fate held Tsukuyomi's death so close to heart, carried such resent... no such hatred, for Thanatos. She eventually put her hand on his shoulder, deciding to show her gratitude for him.

"When the time comes." she said as she leaned in beside him, "We'll fight together." Fate looked up at her, surprise in his eyes. Asuna nodded. "A magi-ministra combo, are you up for it?" she asked him.

"Amusing." Fate said after a second, "Ministra, follower, and a queen offers to be mine." he said it with what to Fate was a smile however and Asuna smirked in return.

"We be honoured and accept then." she said, giving him a light shove. A call from one of the soldiers made them both stop horsing around and look to the side. They saw the soldiers currently lifting a large stone plate out of its place in the floor, revealing a large hole beneath it. Asuna recognized it, it was in the right spot! Walking up to it, she looked down and saw the distant light of something far down there.

"It's there." Captain Kaun said, "The readings took a jump when you opened it." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"It's like Djavul itself is waiting down there." another soldier of bergafolk birth muttered, idly making a quick prayer movement. The others begun to move as well, readying their weapons as they awaited the command.

"He is." Asuna said, "Or rather, his successor. We go down. It's now or never." Exchanging one glance with Fate, she nodded and the two leaped into the hole, her soldiers following them. Asuna had, despite the countless other things that demanded her attention, taken a special pride in staying personally updated with the techniques her armed forces used so just like them, she put one foot and hand towards the wall, using magic to get a grip and managing to slide down it, just as soundlessly and without disturbing any of the dust that had formed on the wall. As the Opening far down came closer she, like the men above her, tightened the grip on the wall and came to a stop. Slapping her other hand and foot to it, she could move along the wall effortlessly and with quick moves she turned around upside down and crawled down towards the hole below.

She moved quickly, like her soldiers, and they came out of the hole in the ceiling of the giant chamber, moving almost like a swarm of human insects, spreading out with swiftness and perfectly synchronized speed. Someone had likened it to an appearing swarm of cockroaches, an analogy Asuna could buy. Cockroaches were nigh invulnerable and thrived anywhere, not bad qualities for her elite. Also cockroaches didn't carry weapons capable of delivering the most lethal storm of death available in the magical world. Asuna first now stopped before she turned her head to look down. The sight below her was as sickening as she remembered it. A dead wasteland, filled with black dust, rotting corpses and everything vile. She didn't want to think where these corpses had come from and while the soldiers moved out around her she spotted what she was looking for.

Thanatos evidently didn't have too much imagination, the very same giant symbol carved into the ground could be seen below. And inside it... he stood there. Some dark ritual was currently ongoing, Asuna could see him... see it.. Thanatos stood there, weaving some kind of dark ritual. Even from here she could clearly see him, too clearly. His grey robes, the mask was back on his face, in his every movement the man below him seethed of perfection and corruption both. It was like looking down at a sun, a despicable, tainted sun of pure evil. Her eyes narrowed and the hate spiked in her heart at the sight of him, of the most fundamentally wrong being in the world. Gritting her teeth, she made one sign and indicated Thanatos. The men all around her let go off the ceiling with their hands and came to stand upside down, taking their rifles from their holding places on the sides of their backpacks.

Then, Thanatos stopped chanting. Mid-syllable, he stopped and looked upwards, straight at Asuna. A split-second of wild fear hit her when Asuna realized that he saw them despite the cloaks. Thanatos knew they were there! Yet she forced it back, remembering who she was she turned off the stealth and gave one command.

"Kill!" she screamed just as Thanatos raised his hand. The next instant the entire ceiling where they stood were struck by a deluge of razor sharp needles formed from blood steel, the ceiling was massacred, became a pincushion as the needles did not leave one square centimetre untouched. Yet, not one of Asuna's men where heard. They had all leaped out of the way, currently raining down from the sky above him. Cocking their guns, they all aimed them perfectly at him and unleashed their own storm. The crack of thunder was deafening, echoed through the chamber as two hundred rifles with perfect accuracy unleashed their steady streams of enchanted bullets straight at Thanatos. The vile mage had only enough time to raise his shields before he was struck by the torrent of steel, blinding flashes exploding by the hundreds every second as the powerful magics tore into his tainted magic, a storm of magic enough to undo any mortal being. Yet it did not penetrate.

That was fine, Asuna didn't expect that to be enough.

She and Fate were the first ones to land and Asuna didn't even need to give the command before Fate was on his way, shooting with blinding speed towards where Thanatos stood. A second later he was upon him, weaving his most powerful spell and crashing a tidal wave of stone magic into the barriers, a swarm of stone spikes powerful enough to break any barrier there was. That was what they were meant for and they did the job. Not even Thanatos' shields, battered as they were ,could resist this onslaught and they came to collapse. Thanatos still was unhurt however, weaving another barrier instantly.

Worked for Asuna, it was as she planned it.

The queen was only one step behind Fate, her sword and entire body blazing with immense kanka energies. It all went into her blade, the ancient atlantean blade howling with anticipation as the blood of an immortal beckoned it. Her strike was perfect, ripping into the fledgling barrier which at full power would have been too much, and all her anti-magic and kanka flowed into it, forging two swift cuts through the air. It made short work of the barrier, impacting with Tanatos full force and the tainted mage simply could not react to her speed and power, beyond all but a handful of people in both worlds. Thanatos was sliced in pieces, his head split in two and his torso in four. The physical damage, as frightening as it was, was only a modicum of the spiritual. Thanatos' entire spiritual being was torn apart by two terrible forces, the god-slaying hunger of the blade as well as the endless void of Asuna's magic cancel.

It was the perfect attack, Thanatos had struck completely and his entire being unravelled behind Asuna, falling apart into nothingness. Yet, the very last instant before he was totally gone his voice echoed through the chamber.

"Had it been but me it would have been enough." Thanatos said, his voice amused. The next second, the world unravelled as well and Asuna fell. Everything was undone around her and she was thrown into a void, flung into it like a rag-doll before she understood what had happened. She fell, no, was propelled with soul-crushing force through a void and an endless sea of all-present omniscience, through an eternity of incomprehensible, inhuman and perfect in both purity and corruption.

She lost her mind temporarily, having it so overloaded that she felt all her presence slip away, reducing her to a vegetable unable to understand anything whatsoever. It was just so much, all her senses overwhelmed by everything wonderful and vile, everything toxic and pure. Then, after an eternity or a second she hit something. The ground? Perhaps, she couldn't fathom it at first. Lying still as her mind tried to unscramble itself. For how long she lay there, she didn't know, only that after some indeterminable time she finally could move. Slowly, slowly, her hands moved, getting up to where her head was. She pushed, trying to get up, and could eventually get to her knees. Her eyes were closed, the head-splitting headache in it rapidly receding, yet when she looked up she found herself once again dumbstruck and unable to think.

She had come to some kind of pit, one surrounded by ten foot high walls along which giant thrones stood, sixteen of them. The skies above were storm-torn, clouds dashing forth over her head a impossible speeds in a total silence. What she noticed most of all though was the figures in those chairs. Overwhelming was only the prologue to the endless epic that would be needed to describe these beings. They occupied her entire spectrum of senses, demanding every last bit of her attention and Asuna couldn't not give it. It wasn't their appearances, more like their sheer, endless presence. She tried to look at all of them, only managing to even look at four of them before she was unable to continue since she couldn't process more.

The first was a normal-seeming man, at least as normal as perfection could seem. Perfectly proportioned, body and face, black hair that ran backwards over his shoulders and a conservative robe upon which a golden scale was embroidered on. He sat with his cheek supported by his right arm, a quietly amused and almost contemplative look on his face. The second was a woman, forged out of embers, thunder, smoke and fire. She was lithe, almost childishly built and her only clothes were the smoke spiralling around her. Yet, her naked body carried not one mortal feature, instead smooth as porcelain. Her eyes blazed, in a face showing no emotions they were like staring into the primordial chaos of the dawn of time, total chaos and destruction. The third was humanoid and simply not there. Where he should have been there were only an endless abyss, a hole in all things in the outline of a man. Asuna couldn't look at it for too long, she felt like she would lose her soul if she did so. The last one was impossible to look clearly at as well, it seemed as if as soon as she focused on him her eyes slipped away and she could only glance him, a figure in flowing, dancing robes whose face was hidden in mist and darkness and where two eyes blazed in an azure light. The greatness reeked of them, telegraphing their sheer power with unbelievable intensity and Asuna could tell the rest were just as powerful.

A pounding movement became evident in all of reality and Asuna looked forwards, still mute and unable to think rationally. She saw three figures walk up to the platform, featureless robes adorning them and their hoods up so their face were obscured. Yet they were just as powerful in their presence as the others, more so even, and Asuna almost wanted to whimper as she felt it like she looked at something forbidden to her. The three figures raised their sleeves now, shadowy, wispy hands of smoke revealing themselves.

"The last of the witnesses have been summoned." one of them said, Asuna simply could not tell which of them. The voice came from everywhere and was neither male nor female yet it shook her to the core. "The conclave of the incarnae shall now commence." the voice continued. Asuna feeling how its presence turned towards her. Looking into the hood of the middlemost of the three beings standing above her, first now a thought could form in her mind.

"_This... isn't good." _Asuna realized how she trembled, being less than bacteria in front of these beings. The full attention of all these beings so infinitely above her was fixed on her, Asuna didn't even know if she could continue to breathe. Like a small, flickering candle, she was about to be absorbed by these raging solar infernos of presences. Whatever she had ended up in, it was bigger than anything ever had been before. She did not know what was going on, didn't even know if she could stay alive in face of this unreal, sheer, power.


	26. A new god

Chapter 26: A new god

* * *

Asuna stood on her knees, looking dumbly upwards with her mind struggling for her survival. The pit she was in stood under an overcast sky torn by winds that made the clouds move impossibly fast and all around the pit, in giant, opulent thrones each unique to the occupier, sat beings of such singular power that she couldn't even breathe. She felt a primal terror, felt as small as an insect and couldn't think straight.

"Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia of the mortal plane." the voice continued. "You are summoned to this conclave to answer for the deicide wrought by you and your magister upon the lord of the ninth nether, Malfeas the demon god." Asuna shouldn't have understood what the voice said, she was too overwhelmed, yet the voice forced itself onto her very soul, engraving itself in her being with burning letters high as a skyscraper. What she failed to do however, was to process it, understand the implications, and she couldn't give an answer.

"She is overwhelmed." a whisper said, the subtle whisper of an incorporeal being dashing past her without being even noticed. It slipped past her almost without being noticed yet somehow, that was precisely how she noticed it. "Bring that which stands between us and her here or we will get nowhere."

"Feeling pity on the insect, Hidden Hunter?." a voice said, a seething, roaring voice filled with wildfires, typhoons, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes. It was a quiet snarl, filled with contempt, "What will come next? Will you elevate her instead?"

"I merely seek the resolution of this matter, Devourer." the silent voice answered, "As decreed by the triumvirate. Surely you do not seek to challenge them."

"Enough." the androgynous voice came again, cutting them both off in one instant. "This bickering is unbecoming even of mortals, for beings like you, it is abominable. The Hidden Hunter is correct. We, the triumvirate, hereby summon Ambrosius to stand as advisor to the accused." Asuna dumbly listened to the exchange, hearing well what they said and partly understanding it, the rest however, was simply crushed under the weight of their beings. That all changed when someone appeared by her side. The weight on her mind lifted in a second and Asuna found herself startling as she came to be able to think again. Looking up to her side, she saw a man standing by her side, a tall man with long, deep red hair and a stern face. He was broad shouldered and wore long flowing robes eerily similar, somehow, to the clothes Nagi and Negi had worn. The man bowed now, going down to his knees in front of the three robed figures.

"As summoned, I have arrived." he said humbly, "What do you require of me." Asuna, who first now could think straight, stood still on her knees and tried to desperately think this whole thing through. Having hung out with Fate and Kurt both for 20 years had given her some mental ways to quickly assess the situation. Wherever she was, the people around her had to be none other than the incarnae. She remembered still the feeling of Malfeas, that terrifying sheer pressure and she knew, to the depth of her being, that these beings had to be his kin, the others amongst the gods that ruled all things. What more, they evidently had some kind of grudge with her and her role in Malfeas' death. Not good. The fact that the incarnae had been chastised to silence by the three robed figures didn't soothe her one bit, who the hell bossed the incarnae around? Also who exactly was the guy standing beside her? Asuna struggled against the fear that begun to creep into her.

"Beside you stands the descendant of Erinya Valeni Entheofuchsia of the mortal plane." the robed figure spoke, or did they all speak as one? Asuna couldn't tell. "The mortal queen Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia. You are to answer what questions she has and stand with her so that she may answer our."

"I understand, endless ones." the man said, now reaching down to put one hand on Asuna's shoulder. The next second something stabbed Asuna in the temple, at least it felt like that. A sudden, sharp pain tore through her head, leaving however as quickly as it came. The next second, Asuna felt herself in direct contact with the man beside her, their minds linked as he spoke into her mind.

"_Apologies for my crudeness, your majesty." _His voice said inside him, _"But the incarnae seem impatient. It is not wise to keep them waiting."_

"_Right..."_ Asuna stayed away from the voice inside her that wanted to start cursing and instead focused on what mattered. _"So from what I can gather, I'm here because they've got a beef with me about Malfeas' death." _she couldn't believe the situation and especially not that she was taking it so calmly. This whole thing begun to reek of exasperating stupidity, she had spent too much time with Fate by the way.

"_Yes." _the voice said. _"Respectfully, as justified as your magister's ending of him was, all of reality almost followed him into oblivion. He, like all incarnae, was an integral part of the balance in the world and without him everything could have perished." _

"_Fucking hell..." _Asuna was near screaming but kept herself calm. _"And those three robed guys? They're bossing the incarnae around, who can do that?" _

"_They are the triumvirate, the voice of creation. You know them best as Time, Space and Destiny." _

"_...What?" _Asuna blinked, staring at the almost unassuming figures standing high above of her. _"Are you saying those three figures are the avatars of the most fundamental forces in the universe?"_

"_I am." _The voice answered. _"It might be confusing, but just accept it."_

"_Yeah..."_ Asuna thought. She was more interested in how to get out of her with her skin intact than deep explanations. _"Last question, how do I address them?"_ Now the man was silent for a question and when his answer came it was lined by a tinge of amusement.

"_Endless ones is the usual term for the triumvirate, the incarnae are referred to as divine ones." _He responded and Asuna nodded to herself, the sudden, physical movement giving her the measuring stick needed to realize that the mental conversation had passed in a split-second. Rising to her feet, she remembered who she was and gave the triumvirate a respectful bow.

"Endless ones." she begun, her voice clear and strong. The pressure was still there, but not as overwhelming, she could think, she could act and did so. "Divine ones." she continued, turning to bow towards the left, right and back, the only real way to humbly greet a group that surrounded her. "I, Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia, hereby pledge myself to answer, truthfully, all questions you have for me. Ask me, and I shall answer to the best of my meagre, mortal abilities." A bit of self-deprecation never hurt. She could tell the incarnae wasn't on her level, rather endlessly above, and to try to act like their equal sounded like a pretty straightforward road to becoming a wet spot on the floor.

"The questioning shall thus commence." the robed figures said. "Vorevass of the Scales. The first question is yours." the man with scales on his robes smiled. Leaning back on his throne, he clasped his hands and looked at Asuna with a look on his face telling Asuna clearly that the situation amused him.

"Tell me, mortal queen." he begun, "What happened that day when my degenerate kinsman died beneath the academy of Mahora?" Asuna took a deep breath now. The memory of that cataclysm still burned in her. She didn't want to think of that horrible battle but she evidently had to. She was interrupted now however.

"You already have an account of that battle, given to you by the triumvirate." It was the mist-faced incarnae who had spoken. "Why waste your question on something like that?"

"Because, Hidden Hunter, I want to." Vorevass answered. He had something smug in his eyes now. Asuna chose to not say anything about it and instead she spoke up, beginning to give, as well as she could, her account of the death of Malfeas the Demon God. The painful memory was still clear in her head and she could give a thorough account of that terrible battle. It made her feel kinda sick, speaking of it after all these years of silence. She didn't waver however, nor did she stop until she was done. Vorevass listened silently, looking at her with eyes glittering with amusement. It seemed as if it was all a big joke to him. When she finally was done, the man scratched his neck and slowly nodded. "That will suffice." He said.

"Xzlatha the Devourer, your question." the voice of the triumvirate spoke. The lithe, storm-woven woman looked at Asuna, her blazing eyes drilling holes into her.

"Tell me, insect." the incarnae said, "Why did you aid a man you knew was tainted by evil, despite his own words on how irrevocable it was?" her voice was a sneer, hateful, angry and unforgiving. "You carried a blade that could have undone him, but instead you mewl like a mindless animal until the very last second. What is your excuse for that?" Asuna felt it like a stab in the heart, this figure evidently despised her. She could feel the venom dripping off her tongue, directed right at her.

"I..." Asuna begun, "I believed in him. I believed that he could beat it, that he'd find a way to undo Malfeas."

"Undo one of the gods?" the incarnae snarled, her blazing glare only intensifying.

"Yes, as he did undo him." Asuna said, provoking the Xzlatha to stand up. Storms kicked up now, the wind began to howl and thunder streaked the sky as the female incarnae roared.

"You insolent worm!" her voice echoed through the foundations of the world itself. Asuna almost was thrown to her knees, instinctive, blazing fear erupting inside her. She was instantly reminded how inferior she was to this divine being, a speck of dust in front of a wildfire. Xzlatha seemed to tower above her, a thousand meters high and filled with a rage that could undo her. However the incarnae couldn't say anything more before the triumnvirate spoke again.

"Enough!" Xzlatha was thrown back into her throne and nailed there by an invisible force, one of the triumvirate had reached out his/her arm and held it towards the incarnae. "You have asked your question, remain silent or leave this conclave, Xzlatha the Devourer. These ones shall not suffer your tantrums!" Xzlatha's gaze turned to the incarnae and while she now was silent, it was evident for all to see the seething, world-shattering hatred the incarnae felt for them. Her two eyes held alone more hatred than Asuna had seen during her entire life. In the end, the storm and fire being stood down, sitting silently.

"Atamon of the Ultimate Darkness." the triumvirate said, the humanoid hole in the void moving first now.

"Did you," it asked with a voice that made Asuna shiver with fear. "Know what awaited after Malfeas' death, for your minister as well as creation itself." Asuna shook her head.

"All I knew was that Negi was to be sent to "nowhere", annihilated as I understood it. As for creation, I didn't know that it would suffer for it."

"Is that to say that you believed the death of one of us wouldn't make creation suffer?" Atamon asked mildly. Asuna swallowed.

"I didn't think of it." she admitted, "To us, you are distant figures, we don't think of you unless we have to. I thought of Malfeas as a diseased part of creation, a cancer to be cut away." the first incarnae to have asked his question burst out into laughter now and applauded.

"I have not heard of such a perfect description in millennia!" Vorevass laughed and around the platform some of the other incarnae begun to laugh as well. Xzlatha growled however but the triumvirate once again called for silence. Asuna marvelled to herself how petty the incarnae seemed, it was like talking to a bunch of kids in some ways. She quickly squashed the thought before it got her annihilated however.

"Oberon the Hidden Hunter." the triumvirate said when the merriment had died down. The man with azure eyes and who was wreathed in mist now leaned forwards, clasping his hands as he leaned his elbows on his knees.

"If you had known what you know now." this incarnae said with a voice that was almost gentle, of all thus far this man (or whatever) seemed almost concerned. "Would you have still done the things you did back then?" Now Asuna was given pause. She thought back on the things she had done back then, the naïve, sometimes foolish calls she had made. Would she have done it again? After all that had happened, would she have gone down that path again?

"No..." she said after a while.

"What then, would you have done differently."

"I... would have been more understanding that time he came back form the temple, back then I lashed out at him, making him snap back. I shouldn't have done that, I should have been more patient, trusted him more. "

"I am satisfied." Oberon said, "Thank you." he added, Asuna blinking at the unexpected courtesy shown her by the incarnae.

"Thorael the Unbending." the triumvirate and Asuna snapped back to the present. Looking up towards the next incarnae, she continued to answer the questions of these high beings. Eleven incarnae remained and the eleven questions that followed drained her. Some questions probed into her very being, some others seemed so innocent only for Asuna to realize afterwards that she had suddenly revealed one of her deepest secrets. The entire process of standing in this court in front of the mightiest of all lifeforms was enough to sap her of her strength. When it was over she felt numb and dulled. Despite the aid of the man beside her it was hard to keep focused with the pressure of the gods upon her. Yet she shook her head after the last question was asked and turned to look upon the triumvirate, still reeling from the realization that she was staring at the physical form of creation's most fundamental concepts. That they not only existed, but even had a voice and will, made her somehow sick with the realization of just how powerful some things were.

"The questions have been asked." the triumvirate said, "What say you?"

"Malfeas' death was his own fault." one of the gods, a naked, featureless human made out of glass, said with a hollow voice. "He violated the creed and paid the price. It is as it should."

"True." Vorevass said with a pondering voice, "Yet a crime is a crime, no matter how veiled. Humanity did murder one of us, no matter the justifications. Should that be considered?"

"No." Thorael stated, his burning face stern and his red wings spread out behind him. "Humanity defended itself against wanton aggression from a degenerate monster. If that cannot be forgiven, what could?"

"As much as the worm queen shows her insolence," Xzlatha said, "That humanity ended Malfeas was as good an outcome as we could have hoped for."

"That, then, leaves only the question of his replacement." Oberon said. "Are the options same as they were, endless ones?"

"They are." the triumvirate said.

"Then I say that the choice should be given to the queen." Oberon said. "The rules of inheritance are not negotiable, in this case the best solution is that she is given this right."

"An amusing proposition." Vorevass said, "I approve." several of the other incarnae voiced their agreements now in different ways. Not all however.

"I don't." Thorael said, "A mortal cannot be saddled with such a responsibility." he was backed by several of the other gods in this.

"Yet a mortal will ascend today." Vorevass pointed out. "Compared to that, who makes the actual call is a minor issue and the rules are no less absolute." Thorael stayed silent at this and the triumvirate spoke up now.

"It is as Vorevass of the Scales say." the three figures said. "Which of you still disagree?"

Several of the incarnae stepped down from their refusal now, thoughtfully turning their eyes to Asuna. She however, didn't have a clue of what they were talking about. She did, however, feel a sinking sensation in her guts and turned to the man standing next to her.

"What are they talking about?" she asked quietly.

"There must be sixteen incarnae." the man answered, "Someone will have to take Malfeas' place. As it is, there's two candidates with equal right to the throne. Due to your role in this, you're a candidate to being the one who makes the choice."

"What candidates?" Asuna asked, getting a very bad feeling about this. It wasn't alleviated when she saw the strange look on the man's face.

"That is not my role to reveal." he said quietly. Asuna gritted her teeth now.

"Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia." the triumvirate spoke now and Asuna instantly faced them again. "According to the laws of balance there must be sixteen incarnae, none of the thrones must be empty. Balance is paramount, no matter what else that happens. Therefore it is written in the laws of all things that whomever ends an incarnae shall take its place. Yet here, that ascension could not take place before your weapon ended the inheritor."

"_Shit..." _Asuna realized what they were getting at and the sinking feeling became an outright punch in the gut.

"We stand at a crossroads. Where there was one, there has now become two. Negi Springfield and Thanatos both stand as candidates to the throne of the ninth nether realm. The choice, as decreed by the incarnae, are given to you. Which of them shall be given the role of incarnae and who shall be given the role as your magister." Asuna was petrified at his. "Both held these roles, yet both must now give up one of these positions. The call is yours to make."

"_Fuck!" _Asuna mentally screamed. The truth was out and it made her furious. Not even the prospect of seeing Negi again made her happy. It only made her angry, she had long since moved on and now the past came back, tearing up those wounds who had taken so long to heal. It slammed into her, taking her back to the devastated girl who had fled Mahora blindly. Suddenly Asuna realized she had started to hug herself, her fingers digging into her arms as her breathing became ragged.

"What... what..." she begun, "My... magister, what?" her mind clasped onto that detail, mainly in a desperate attempt to somehow, illogical as it was, find some kind of loophole.

"Whomever is not chosen to ascent shall return to the mortal plane and assume the role held upon the death of the one that now is two. That role is as your magister." Asuna blinked, feeling it as if the ground disappeared beneath her feet. The very thought sickened her. As she understood it either she'd have to let Thanatos take over Malfeas' realm or she'd be saddled with him for the rest of her life! What in the depths of all hells was this! What had she done to deserve this! Gritting her teeth, she looked up at the incarnae and the triumvirate.

"Okay, yeah, I get it." she said, not able to keep the poison out of her voice.

"Be at ease." the triumvirate said, "You shall not make the choice without having heard them both." missing the cause of her distress like champs, the triumvirate summoned two portals in front of Asuna. One was coloured white and the other blue. "Through the white portal you will find Thanatos, through the blue you shall find Negi Springfield. Visit them both and make your decision based on what you find, appointer of the next incarnae." Asuna stared at the portal with incredulous eyes. A small voice in the back of her head said that she just had gotten enough evidence of how the major powers of the universe were either ignorant about human emotions and feelings or simply didn't care. Staring at the two portals she slowly shook her head, feeling how she was close to crying. An insane scream echoed in her mind,

"_It is not over, it's never over!" _The death cry of both Tsukuyomi and Thanatos came back to haunt her and Asuna felt the despair sink over her as she tried to think straight. In the end however, she did reach out for one of the portals. Hopeless as the situation was, it was best to get it over with and she steeled herself as she begun doing this. She had fought through a nightmarish war so she could fight through this. It was the blue one she touched first and at the very moment she touched it she found herself in another place, the place where Negi would be. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing Thanatos again, not now. And even if she was frightened by the prospect of seeing the boy she had buried many years ago, it was much better than meeting the monster who still haunted her nightmares.

The landscape she came to turned out to be more pleasant than she had expected. A countryside filled with small shrubs and flowers. Somewhat wind-pined, but never the less it was peaceful, calm and almost outright beautiful, especially with the small river further down in the valley, flanked by trees and with the sun reflecting off the surface. A wind blew past Asuna towards the valley below, towards where she could see a figure sit by the river upon a fallen tree trunk. She could spot red hair and the deep grey robe he wore was familiar, causing Asuna's heart to leap into her throat. It was him! Down by the river, the boy she had lost twenty years ago sat. Asuna felt the old feelings bubble up again, the memory of the person who had shown her magic, fought for her life, who had fallen and tortured her and who, In the end, had died trying to fix the mess he had caused.

Looking down towards him, she realized that there still were fiercely glowing embers of her love for him hidden deep in her mind. She swallowed before she started to walk. Despite her emotions she still had a job to do. Heading down the slope, she looked around herself and wondered where exactly this were. This place seemed modelled on somewhere, perhaps it was an image of Wales, the place he had called his childhood home?

As she drew near Negi the world changed however. The skies above them begun to darken and Asuna looked upwards, seeing how storm clouds gathered. Distant thunder began to rumble and the colours washed out of the world except for a horrifying few. Staring around herself, Asuna saw how the trees turned pale white and dead, how the river turned into blood, how the grass became slick and oily under her feet. The sound of the world around her muted, leaving only distant, frenzied mutterings in the distance that seemed to echo through all things, desperate chanting of the word "no", sobs and rambling prayers that "it" hadn't really happened, Asuna able to make a fair guess at what he meant. Fear clutched her heart and she begun to run. The figure seemed to be miles away all of a sudden, sitting in foetal position and clutching his head.

"Negi!" she cried out, seeing how the figure twitched but didn't look back. It was first when she reached him that any sort of reaction could be provoked and then it was a violent one. She had only got up to him, reaching out to touch him when Negi lashed out. A blast of magic struck at her, sending her flying backwards. If it hadn't been for her magic cancel the attack would have killed her. As it was it only singed her clothes and she landed on all fours after a quick twist in the air. Negi had stood up now, turned to face Asuna and letting her see him again. He looked exactly like the boy she had known, hadn't changed one iota with one very crucial exception. His eyes, they were haunted, flickered back and forth and blinked furiously. Negi stood with one hand raised, magic having formed around it to create another magic blast. Asuna realized he was delirious and slowly got up. He was tense like a piano thread and if she wasn't calm... Asuna swallowed deeply.

"Negi..." she begun, speaking calmly. "It's all right... I won't hurt you." Slowly approaching, she kept talking. "It's me, Asuna. I won't hurt you." she said, trying to subdue him somehow.

"Why..." Negi said, his voice despondent, "Why don't you stay away, why do you keep haunting me?" screaming the last word, Negi let loose the blast at him. This time Asuna was ready however and annihilated it with one movement. This shocked Negi, made him seemingly stand down for a second. Asuna took this chance to take a few slow steps closer.

"Negi, I'm not a hallucination." Asuna continued, feeling how she shivered when realizing what a mess Negi was. The boy standing in front of her was a total wreck, mentally broken by all that had happened. "You saw that, hallucinations can't cancel out magic, can they?" she tried to reach him rationally, shove some doubt into his belief she was just a figment of his imagination. Negi slowly shook his head, looking back and forth.

"No..." he said, "No they can't. Unless... what if I misfired it somehow. I'm not stable, I could have missed, I could have made it too weak, I could have just imagined firing it. So many variables, so many possibilities, I can't control it, I can't act with certainty. How do I know, what do I know?" he rambled on incoherently. Beginning to pace back and forth, Negi ran his fingers through his head. His mouth went constantly, his voice shivering.

"It will be okay." Asuna said, "Negi, look at me." Negi didn't listen now, Asuna having to repeat herself before she even reached him. "Look at me, I'm older, right? Have you seem me older like this before?" She tried, hoping desperately that she could reach him like this. Now Negi blinked owlishly, at one second raising his hand as if he was making an "eureka" movement but then stopping and shaking his head.

"I think I have, but have I really?" he muttered. Asuna for one second feeling hopeful but then it died. "For a while I did, but I didn't. I just saw more than I saw, the perspective of an incarnae it's endless! I think I saw you as an old woman and a kid, I remember it, you had grey hair. Or was that me not seeing colours?" Asuna didn't get what he was talking about, not one bit, but she had to keep going.

"Negi, I'll take a few steps closer now, okay?" Asuna said and when Negi didn't protest she did so, now being only a few meters away. She felt sick at the sight. To have Negi reduced to this, to a rambling wreck, made her want to puke again. It was wrong, Negi couldn't be like this. He was a titan, a forceful, certain master of what he did. To see this... it hurt. "I won't do anything bad to you, I just want to talk with you, then I'll leave."

"Revealing things to my delusions?" Negi laughed unsteadily. "Have I gone that far now? Am I chatting away about my life and everything with empty air, telling it how to more torment me? But if they are my delusions, doesn't that not even matter? Where's the limit, am I possessed? I think I still have kept some parts hidden, if I am I can't... no,nononononononono I died!" Negi screamed. "I died and was meant to remain that!" looking up at Asuna, Negi showed his eyes now filled with panic. "Why do I live! Why am I sentient after being ended? Is this what awaits? Will I walk here forever? The soul supposedly dissolves upon death, fades into the tapestry of all things." he continued, ranting wildly and Asuna desperately tried to follow him.. "But where does it go, I evidently am somewhere now. Does that mean Heilbronner and Wachtmeister were wrong, is the soul more than like a candlelight snuffed out? The implications I mean..."

"Negi, I will ask you some things, and then leave." Asuna said, trying to stay cool despite just wanting to run up to him and try to embrace him. Obscenely enough, the current difference in age meant that Asuna almost felt something vaguely maternal when seeing the young boy tormented like this. She still remained focused though. Negi's head snapped back to look at her now, something wild in his eyes.

"Really?" he asked, the mania in his eyes accompanied with a grin. "So you get what you must know and then just leave? Just like that? No attempts to do anything, save me? Save? From what anyway? Madness? But she claims to be Asuna, the real Asuna and not the illusion, the Asuna who loved me?" Negi hissed now. The world begun to rumble around him, sheer rage in his voice that only mounted and getting a response around him. Negi looked up at Asuna now and Asuna felt a sting of fear now, seeing the sheer power he exuded gave her a good image of what this boy once had been to his enemies. "Liar! You're not her, she would not abandon me! She loved me! Was ready to go through fire for me!" Wildly screaming Negi begun to crackle with power, the wind being kicked up around him.

"But I do!" Asuna begun, "Negi, I still love you!" she exclaimed without really thinking. Until now she hadn't even considered the idea that she had stopped loving him with the time that had passed, meaning that when she now reacted instantly, that was what she said. The result was greater than she ever could have imagined however. Negi froze, staring at her with his eyes open wide. The power died around him instantly. Beginning to shake his head, the son of the thousand master backed off in horror.

"No... No!" he screamed, falling down and landing on his behind. Backing off from Asuna with a frantic, scrambling movement. "Why!" he screamed. "After all... how stubborn do you have to be!" Crawling backwards, he eventually hit a tree and his retreat came to a halt. With terror carved in his face, Negi seemed to be about to cry, eventually curling up in a fetal position. "Go away... don't... go away!" he screamed, "Go away, leave me, don't... let me stay here, this is my hell, the hell I deserve!" Negi's voice built now, more and more and Asuna wasn't quite sure where it went past what was humanly possible, the scream only built and built and the world around Negi begun to fall apart. Looking around herself, Asuna realized that the countryside had vanished and only the void remained. Seconds later, the ground vanished under her feet and she fell, leaving Negi sitting in front of a dead, twisted tree in the middle of emptiness. Futilely extending her hand to try to grab hold of something, without being able to reach him, talk to him, try to get through to him, Asuna fell through the black nothingness. She screamed and she would never be able to decide whether she did it out of shock and fear or despair and denial.

This time, however, she was quickly caught. Asuna's descent stopped and she found herself slowly landing on what seemed like solid ground. Her heart pounded and she looked around in shock. She still was in the darkness, saw nothing except for herself initially. Then, however, the man who had stood by her side in front of the gods appeared. He faded into being in front of her and pulled back his now upturned hood.

"A sad fate for such a brave young man." he said, the compassion in his eyes genuine. Asuna looked at him now, then looking upwards to see if she could still spot Negi. She couldn't, he was gone, lost in the void and suddenly her eyes overflowed. Reaching up to cover her mouth with her hands, she sobbed. The last of the shock was gone now and the pain could come in full.

"What... what happened to him?" she asked, the tears running down her face but the grief not quite yet having broken her. "How did he... he's insane, what happened to him?"

"The human mind is not meant for the wisdom of the incarnae." the man sighed. "He was brought from mortality to divinity and back. His mind couldn't handle it." Asuna swallowed, struggling with the lump in her throat. She would not break down, not here, not now. Clenching her fist, she gritted her teeth and took several deep breaths. Eventually, the queen of Vespertatia could wipe her eyes and stay focused. She looked up at the man, seeing that he had averted his eyes for the moment and now turned back to her.

"Tell me something." she asked now, "Who are you? I didn't hear your name." the man smiled now, a small smile of understanding.

"My birthname is Myrddin of Caledonia. I am a servant of the Triumvirate. The story behind it is long, convoluted and really not that exciting."

"Myrddin." Asuna said, "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Myrddin said, "But my lady, you no doubt have many questions now. I will be glad to answer those I can Would you care to walk with me while we talk your majesty?" he continued, making a gesture to the side.

"Thank you once again " Asuna said, bowing her head in gratefulness. While the void wasn't by any means a charming view it at least was good that someone around here was sensible.

"Then let me offer you a view more pleasing than this abyss while we converse." with those words, the void they were in transformed, becoming a lakeside lying in a barren heathland. The sun stood high above the lake and made the water glitter. Asuna blinked, now having felt anything Having spent the last decades perfecting her magic cancel had given her an uncanny ability to feel when someone tried to weave magic. Yet this time there was not one thing. It just was there and Asuna glanced at the man, wondering just how powerful this man was. Still, she came up to his side when he made a gesture down the path that went around the lake. Walking along the water, Asuna thought about what just had happened. She was calm now, not at peace, but calm. She could try to think through what had just transpired and attempt to make some sense out of it.

"Can anything be done for Negi?" she asked eventually, "He's insane, but can he be... I don't know, helped back into sanity again?"

"Perhaps, in time" Myrddin said, "He suffers right now, but given some years of peace and help he could perhaps come back. I dare not make any greater judgement than that."

"You don't have to." Asuna said, "That's all I wanted to know. I have to meet Thanatos, don't I?"

"Neither The triumvirate nor the incarnae will accept your judgement otherwise." Myrddin told her. "And as vile as it might feel to meet him, know he is no danger to you as it is."

"Of course." Asuna chuckled tiredly, "If anything he'll try to talk me into making him the new incarnae."

"Do you wish for my company?" Myrddin looked towards her, "The triumvirate would accept my presence I believe. If it would reassure you I will accompany you."

"Thank you." Asuna said, this time even more heartfelt than before. "But I will be fine on my own. Let's just get this over with. Just show me the way." Myrddin nodded and extended one hand to the side. With one flick of his fingers he opened the portal.

"Good luck your majesty." he said, bowing respectfully. "And if you need me, just speak my name. I will come to your side at once."

"I appreciate it." Asuna said, partly because saying thank you again started to sound like a stupid idea. Taking a single deep breath, she stepped through the portal and into the realm where Thanatos would wait for her. The realm where her greatest nightmare would reside.

Asuna didn't quite know what she should have expected when entering the realm where Thanatos would control everything. A nightmare was the closest thing to mind. Yet the realm she came to turned out to be surprisingly normal, a large road leading up to a castle reaching towards the sky. The architecture was impossibly graceful, seemingly like a complex sculpture of glass, and countless towers reached towards the sky ahead of Asuna. The paths around her seemed like a wild land however, the trees were overgrown with ivy and there seemed to be things lurking deep beyond the first rows of trees.

Asuna took another breath and headed towards the gate, looking around her as she walked. She reached down to the wrist where her scanner sat. Even in this realm her combat armour was intact and Asuna used this chance to take a reading of the area around her. It was off the scales, every last bit around her was permeated, marinated in the taint. Yet at the same time it was so diverse. While everything around her was created out of sheer evil malice, it came in so many variants, an ecosystem of evil. Asuna shook her head and hurried past the broken gates, she didn't want to dwell on how multifaceted Thanatos had made his disgusting nature.

As she approached the castle, despite her revulsion to the nature of everything around her, she had to admit it was beautiful. The building was a work of art, refined, elegant and thoroughly thought through. Asuna guessed Thanatos must have become bored being trapped in this place. And he spent it creating this? The comparison to how Negi recreated his homeland and tore it apart over and over came unbidden and it unsettled Asuna. It seemed more reasonable to assume Negi was the force of destruction here.

"Welcome to my cell, your majesty." Thanatos' voice said behind Asuna. She froze now, a fear that had rested in her for all these years bubbling up once more. It took her several seconds to look back, an action that rewarded her with the sight of Thanatos standing several meters away by one of the ethereally graceful pillars. He wore the same grey, featureless robes as always and his hood was down, giving Asuna perfect view of his achingly perfect features. "Though I assume this meeting is not one you chose freely."

"Pretty much, yeah." Asuna said, swallowing to keep the quiver out of her voice. Thanatos surprised her now and bowed slightly.

"We're all at the mercy of the incarnae." he said dryly, giving that supremely confident smile. "But I shan't keep you, let me at least make you an offer I believe you would like. Don't worry," he added quickly with a small smile, "This one doesn't involve the taint as far as you are concerned."

"How about no." Asuna said, anger seeping into her voice "I'm not going to make you a god."

"Of course you won't." Thanatos said, "The very idea that you would make me, your most hated enemy, an incarnae is preposterous. Please your majesty, I might be vile, but I am not stupid." Thanatos laughed at this, a small, dignified laughter showing how ridiculous he found the idea. "No your majesty, my offer is one objectively beneficial for both of us."

"You can't be serious." Asuna said, feeling how she got more and more angry. Once again this despicable monster tried to bargain with her. Once again he tried to sink his claws into her. She hated him, hated that smug face, hated his vileness, hated how he was nothing but a corrupt mirror image of Negi, hated how he stood here, as sane as anyone could be while Negi suffered! Now Thanatos' face became serious however.

"I am, and you will find it one of merit. You will make Negi a god, we both know that's the only option. And when you return to the mortal plane, I will be with you. With me, the pactio with you will be reborn and I still belong nowhere. With one sword strike, one you can command me to not avoid being that I will be tied utterly to you, you will end me permanently. Thus, a "happy ending" for you, the planes get, hopefully, a kind-hearted incarnae and I am killed for good." for the first time ever, Asuna heard actual sarcasm in Thanatos' voice. What astounded her, however, was not that.

"I... I hadn't even thought of that solution." she said, Thanatos face impassive as he no doubt realized the gaffe he had made. At least Asuna hoped so. The idea that he would have messed up like that made Asuna overjoyed, it was a crack in his armour of perfection, a massive one. She would be disappointed however.

"No, but no doubt Fate Averruncus will have." He said, "Either way, consider the fact that I state it now a show of my good will." Asuna scoffed now, hearing him use that word made a foul taste settle in her mouth. "Either way." he said, "With me having shown my hand in this manner, will you listen to my proposal at least?" Asuna blinked now, realizing that it was really only fair. As much as she hated him, she wasn't quite at the stage where she'd not even listen, if only to display some fundamental decency.

"All right." she said.

"Let me live." Thanatos said, "In this cell I have gained some glimpses of the mortal world at this time, "I know of the enslaver war, I know how you struggle to rebuild and I know how you are tormented by constant problems, problems you thus far have only barely managed to deal with. Yet," Thnatos said now, "My blood steel could solve that. It is more precious than diamonds at the moment and I can create more of it, something that would grand your nation wealth beyond your wildest dreams. Any questions can be deflected, I alter it to not be quite as potent as usual and you can claim you found a way to synthesize it, with me hidden in some deep facility you can claim ignorance about the particulars. Vespertatia will thrive and by it you will." Asuna listened to him, first now realizing something. While as dignified as always, Thanatos was at the moment pleading for his life. What he said amounted to "Don't kill me, I can be useful, enslave me, use me for your nation's sake, but don't kill me."

It shook her to the core, the realization that she really did have this power. Thanatos, her most feared bogeyman, was at the moment all but begging for his life, telling her he'd accept anything but death. It shook her so deeply, this human reaction in this inhuman being, that suddenly she felt like she didn't even know who this person in front of her was.

"You'll allow me to enslave you that completely?" She asked now, the venom gone. All of a sudden Thanatos did not seem so terrible. He seemed so much more... human? No, not human, but at least not so divine, no longer so terrible.

"Free will is not something I've ever known." Thanatos stated calmly, "I was a slave to Malfeas from the moment I was born and after my death I was trapped her, with only some brief bursts of activity where I could decide on my own actions. It's not a too big loss for me, what more, I won't die." he added dryly.

"You never acted on your own?" Asuna asked, "Not at any time?" the memory of how he had towered above her, tortured her by cutting her open bit by bit, came to her. Did he really think he could talk himself out of that?

"I think I know what you are referring to." Thanatos said, "However, did that person not call Nagi Springfield father? Did he not claim it revenge for his abandonment? What you saw, was neither me, nor Negi Springfield, it was a tainted Negi Springfield, something which I am not."

"What are you trying to tell me?" Asuna asked.

"That I am more than merely a version of Negi Springfield." Thanatos said, for the first time showing anger. "I am Thanatos, thus I have been and shall remain. For Negi, you were a complicated issue, equal parts the thief of his father, the only hope of finding him and the first girl he came to feel physical affection for. I, from the beginning, never saw anything but a young girl I craved. I had no reason to ever torture you. Not when you stood against me at Mahora, not when you rejected me seventeen years ago and not now."

"Okay, this is rich. So not only was Negi the one who tortured me, you even claim you're a poor misunderstood admirer of mine?" Asuna stared at him, too stupefied to even get angry. This was the single most ridiculous thing ever.

"No and no." Thanatos said, "What you saw was Negi at his darkest, most twisted, angriest and most hate-filled. He was a seething cauldron of anger and uncertainty even when you first met him, what you saw was the low-point of all he stood for, a man as deeply fallen as when you cried with joy at the sight of Megalomesembria burning and dying." Asuna flinched now, feeling the memory of how she had been so deeply overjoyed in that dream like a slap to the face. Thinking back on it, she was horrified by what that dream had showed of her subconscious, whomever she had been in that dream terrified her. That anger, that sheer joy death and destruction had given her. It had been one of the things that still haunted her in her nightmares, the idea of another side of herself, a dark, hate-filled monster revelling in carnage and chaos. And now, when imagining Negi in the same seat... she couldn't, just couldn't, see an erudite and calm manipulator arise from it, only a raging, sadistic monster lashing out at the world around him. Looking at Thanatos, she came to stare him directly in the eye, silent as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. "And what more." Thanatos said now, "I am a monster, that I have never denied. To you, I remain the same person I always has been, the man seeking to corrupt, to break down and to defile and this I really am. However, I've never sought to harm you, not once."

Asuna found no words now. Faced with Thanatos' words she found her world view challenged, fundamentally, and thanks to the influence of both Fate and Kurt she couldn't ignore it. It drove into her mind, a splinter settling there and stopping her from taking the easy way out and simply ignore what was said. She couldn't, simply couldn't, just adapt some narrow-minded and flawed interpretation that would permit her to lash out and purposely misinterpret him because it was easier that way.

"How can I trust you?" she asked eventually. If what he said was true, then that had some pretty damn severe implications. If he lied however... Thanatos closed his eyes for a second, looking downwards for a moment.

"Other than the fact that you carry the will of the incarnae with you?" he asked after a second, looking up again, "For once, I am truly inferior to you your majesty. I cannot lie, just as Negi Springfield was unable to lie to you when you no doubt visited him before coming to me. We are both subject to your will, our cards are forced to the table for you to view." Asuna looked at him now. That didn't sound like what she had been told. Yet... it made sense. She didn't know however and wasn't going to judge too quickly. Instead...

"Myrddin!" she called out. Thanatos blinked now and only second later, without any fanfare of any sort, Myrddin appeared by Asuna's side.

"You called, milady?" he asked.

"Thanatos is telling me he can't lie, that since I'm judging in this it's impossible for him to lie."

"Myrddin?" Thanatos asked now. It was not an surprised voice however, only amused. He folded his arms and gave a wry smile. Myrddin ignored it however

"He can hide certain facts, he can give his viewpoint, but he can't explicitly lie." Myrddin said.

"Unlike you it would seem." Thanatos said, "Your majesty, did this man really introduce himself as Myrddin?" he asked.

"Yes, and?" Asuna asked, looking with suspicious eyes at Thanatos. Myrddin seemed however to get uncomfortable.

"I gave her the name my mother gave me." he said, "What others have named me is not relevant, not now."

"Perhaps her majesty should judge that." Thanatos said, "This man, your majesty, is none other than Merlin Ambrosius, which is the latinized version of his name he used in king Arthur's court." Thanatos spoke it with force, his words cracking like a whip. Asuna blinked, looking at Myrddin for one second, Merlin? The revelation wasn't as shocking as many other things today but it still was a big one. After a few seconds however, she shrugged.

"So?" she asked. "I can see where he's coming from. I hate being "the queen" at times too, often I just want to be "Asuna. Why should he spend eternity as a title and not a person?" Thanatos looked, no stared, at her now, genuine surprise in his eyes at this. After a while however, he broke out into laughing. This time it was a wilder, less dignified laughter, Thanatos almost doubled over as he laughed, a laughter that could have made Asuna smile with glee at the sheer beauty of it. As it was it only made her unsettled. Thanatos soon recovered however and looked at her with a smile.

"And once again you show me why exactly I cannot stop craving you." he said with a wide smile. For a normal human it might have seemed a kind of happy smile, as it was the smile was accompanied with Thanatos' eyes starting to get that eerie, unsettling glow along with a smile more belonging on a serial murderer. "You never cease to surprise, never cease to take new options. Once again I find myself wishing so badly that Malfeas's had won at Mahora, even an eternity under that wretch would have been worth it had I only gotten you." Asuna found herself freaked out to say the least by Thanatos' actions, hearing his demented declaration of love was at once intriguing, sickening and just plain frightening. She had never heard it from Negi, but now she was given it by Thanatos and it was horrifying, plain and simple.

"Wretch?" she asked despite the fear. She wasn't going to let it rule her. She was better than that, better than that one strong emotion would render her unable to act. Thanatos, who had ceased to laugh now, looked up at her, his eyes still glowing.

"Yes." he said, his voice turning into a hiss. "I hated him from the instant of my conception, that flamboyant, irrational animal which was my master, only the devourer herself hated him more than I. I had from my very first moment thoughts of defying him, of finding a way to outsmart him and end him, even if the years turned to millennia I would have kept seeking for routes to undo him."

"I understand." Asuna said, Thanatos nodding.

"Indeed your highness." he said, reaching out to the sides. "And now, let me reiterate my offer. Your nation, economically hamstrung by the many, many trials it has faced, will live once more when I am your obedient slave." reaching out to the sides now, Thanatos snapped his fingers and suddenly, out of the sleeves of his robes, something came pouring out. Asuna startled at first, realizing only after a moment what it was. Coins, coins in a deep, crimson red colour. Blood steel coins! They came out in a virtual torrent, spreading out all around them in a larger and larger pile. "a steady stream, not too much and not to little. Vespertatia will steadily rise, your deficit will turn to surplus, your people will prosper. This is what I offer you in return for my life. Let me live and you will not regret it your majesty, this I swear." Thanatos told her Asuna looked at the blood steel and despite her revulsion to him and all he was, she couldn't deny the temptation. Her homeland had suffered from what he talked bout, rebuilding was costly and thanks to the countless vultures of man, slavers, bandits and the likes they had to keep their army intact. The result was an economy that only became more and more strained, despite all she had done. She hadn't known how to solve it and it only more and more made her anxious.

In the end however, she spun around. Turning away from Thanatos, Asuna begun to walk towards the exit of the castle courtyard they all were in in. Her face was unreadable and she moved quickly.

"I'll consider it." she said with an even voice, "Myrddin, get me out of here." she added with a voice turning terse. Myrddin, Merlin or whatever the hell he wanted to be called hurried up to her side and formed a portal a few meters from them.

"Goodbye your majesty." Thanatos said behind them, right before Asuna got through the portal and returned to the void, the plane of nothingness. However, even when through this portal and having gotten to the place where there were nothing, she kept walking ,stomping several meters away before she lashed out, with a blind slash of her arm she sent a blast of pure anti-magic swirling through the void, screaming as it vanished in the distance.

Panting, Asuna clenched her arms around herself, digging the fingers into her upper arms as she gritted her teeth. Hissing as she breathed, she was growling under her breath, muttering curse words in sheer anger at the situation. Eventually, as Myrddin came up to her, she looked up.

"Leave me alone." she said now, taking a deep breath that suppressed but not removed the anger. "I... I need time. Leave me for a while, okay?" Myrddin looked at her and eventually nodded.

"As you wish, milady." he said, making one quick move with his hand. This quick move was all he needed to shape a large, spacious room with comfortable seating and a fire burning in the fireplace. It wasn't a room Asuna had known, but it was permeated with serene homeliness, a good place to gather one's thoughts. "I shall convince the incarnae to give you as much time as I can."

"Thanks." Asuna said and with that, Myrddin vanished in an instant. Asuna, meanwhile, walked up to the fireplace. Putting her hands against the mantelpiece, she leaned forwards, staring into the fire. Once again everything got so damn stupid, once again everything seemed to spit in her face. She hated this. What the hell was she even trying to prove? The queen of Vespertatia found herself more and more losing the ability to care any more. Not even now, twenty years later, she was free of this shit. It made her angry. It made her furious.

Asuna reappeared in the pit under the stormy sky much like Myrddin had done. Without and light, sound or fanfare. One second she simply stood there, in the large pit surrounded by the thrones of the incarnae. She stood, however, proud and straight, with little hesitation on her face as she faced the triumvirate.

"Asuna Vesperina Theotanasia Entheofushia." the voice of the triumvirate said. "Are you ready to make the judgement?"

"I am." Asuna said, looking straight at the three avatars of the firmaments of all things. As she said this, the first of the three figures raised both hands and made one downwards sweep with it, Thanatos and Negi both appearing in front of her. Negi gave up a loud exclamation, stumbling before one snap of the first figure's fingers locked him in place and robbed him of all ability to act. Thanatos meanwhile stood perfectly still, therefore not being trapped. The third figure of the triumvirate now raised one hand and pointed at Asuna, who saw a glowing orb appear in front of her.

"Before you is the throne of the ninth nether." the triumvirate said and Asuna swallowed. "Negi Springfield or Thanatos. Choose who shall transcend and take his place amongst us." Asuna looked at the floating orb and then up at the two people in front of her. Negi stood, seemingly frozen in time, and Thanatos still enough that he might as well have been it too. Slowly reaching up, she grabbed hold of the orb and felt how it burned slightly to the touch. This power was beyond what anyone could comprehend, made Nagi seem like an insect, and she was to bestow this to someone.

Once again she looked at the two men. Negi the one she loved, and Thanatos the one she hated. She walked towards them, holding the orb in her hands as her eyes went between them. As she walked she felt how the incarnae all looked at her, intently and even eagerly, to see who would ascend to sit amongst them. The pressure could have crushed her, yet she stood upright, walking forwards, eventually reaching the two. With one final second of hesitation, she held out the orb.

She held it out to Thanatos.

At that instant, the heavy, expectant mood that had settled was interrupted by Thanatos. The formerly placid, even resigned, figure of the man of taint changed, showing surprise, even amazement. On the thrones high above them several of the incarnae showed their amazement as well. Vorevass had lowered his hands to the armrests and raised an eyebrow, Oberon actually leaned forwards in his seat. The reactions might have seemed minute, but for the incarnae, Asuna understood it had to be great. However all was drowned out by what came now. Every movement, every voice, every thought was drowned out by the triumvirate.

"The decision is made!" the voice not only said, but roared. "Thanatos has been chosen to ascend and become the new ruler of the ninthnether. Thanatos the spawn is no more and Thanatos the defiler will remain for all time!" Asuna found herself once again drowned in the sheer, massive presence. Everything faded out for a second and when it came back, she found herself staring into Thanatos dumbfounded eyes. For a second Asuna could see so much in them, so much that she almost could call human.

"Why?" he asked, in that one moment utterly naked, mentally defenceless as Asuna had totally surprised him.

"Because I'm tired of all this shit." Asuna said, her voice hollow and her gaze exhausted. "Because I want Negi back. Because you were never free. Because I hate enslavement no matter what. If Negi becomes an incarnae he'll never be healed. Besides, you get a place where you belong, right?" With that, Asuna turned from him and walked up to Negi. "Please, release him!" she shouted, Negi's body losing it's rigor only instants later and starting to fall to the ground. Asuna caught him however and cradled him in his arms.

"It's all right," she whispered as she held Negi, "it's me, Asuna. You're free now. It's all right Negi." Tenderly, she held him in his arms, whispering soothing words to the still young man and he started to struggle. Yet, eventually he ceased, Asuna's words reached through to him in this place. Looking up at her at first, Negi proceeded to stare around himself. Blinking once, twice, he then spoke.

" Wachtmeister was right..." he croaked with a voice seemingly hoarse from screaming. Yet, after that he looked back at Asuna, looking into her eyes. "How long was I gone?" he eventually asked, reaching up to touch Asuna's face. Asuna found herself swallowing, blinking, then taking a shivering breath as her eyes misted up.

"Negi..." she whispered with a quivering voice before she wrapped her arms around him properly. "thank sol... thank sol you're back!" she whispered.

"Sol..." Negi said absently, "Then I.. oh thank god... it worked!" with that, Negi's arms came up and wrapped itself around her as well. Asuna felt how the tears of joy came down her face. What she had not even dared to hope for was true. Negi was back, Negi was back! He was with her! Asuna sobbed, feeling how all the anger, the anxiety, fear, hate and rage inside her just vanished. Holding onto Negi, she felt how all suddenly was right in the world. She was for the first time in nearly twenty years not only at peace, but truly, completely happy.

"I've been granted a place amongst the incarnae." Thanatos' voice said from above them, from above the walls of the pit. From the thrones of the incarnae he spoke. "Yet at this moment I am reminded why I hate you, Negi Springfield." the voice turned to a growl, "Go, live out your mortal life in peace. Yet remind me once more of your existence and I will finish what my predecessor failed to." With that, the sounds around them faded, something Asuna noticed but didn't care. She just held onto Negi, happy, even overjoyed, enough that she didn't ever want to move from here. She didn't caree as the world seemed to twist and turn around them, as reality warped, and it was first when the cries of "your highness!" echoed through the air that she first looked up. When she did, she saw the giant chamber under Mahora, she saw Fate and her men coming towards her with shock and worry on their faces. Yet more than any of that she felt, she heard, she even smelled, Negi Springfield in her arms, back in the world after these twenty years. Negi Springfield, at last with her again, rapidly ageing as the twenty lost years caught up with him. Negi Springfield, her love, home again.

* * *

A/N: And thus it ends. An ending I stumbled towards at the end. With that, the fic I've worked at for YEARS is now finished. Thank you for following me all this way, you who did so, and thank you for picking it up, you who found it only recently. With that, this story is over and new stories beckon. I hope to see you there.

Until then, bye.


End file.
